Tornado in Arizona, September 13, 1996

Name: Tornado in Arizona, September 13, 1996
Start: 1996-09-13T17:00
End: 1996-09-13T17:20
Location: Arizona

September 13, 1996 · NWS FGZ · 1 event in 1 county or zone

A tornado moved through the east end of Chino Valley. Two mobile homes were moved 7 feet off their foundations and received moderate exterior and interior damage.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it. Tap one for its entry below.

Tornadoes
Tropical storms and surge
Floods
Wind
Hail
Winter weather
Heat and drought
Cold
Fire, smoke and dust
Marine and coastal
Other

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The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: $250,000
Crop damage: $30,000
Events: 1

Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.

What happened

The episode as NWS FGZ wrote it up.

A tornado moved through the east end of Chino Valley. Two mobile homes were moved 7 feet off their foundations and received moderate exterior and interior damage. Several power poles were snapped off at 3 feet above the ground. One wood frame home received extensive roof damage where 95% of the roof surface was removed. Eight other wood frame homes received light to moderate roof damage. One greenhouse was extensively damaged where 18 foot long wood planks were thrown 100 feet and 850 plants were destroyed. Many sheds were completely destroyed.

The radar

The Flagstaff radar (KFSX), 116 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 00:03 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 tornado. Local standard time, as filed.

Tornado, Yavapai

When: September 13, 5:00 PM MST to 5:20 PM MST
Where: Yavapai County, Chino Vly
Rating: F1
Path length: 4 mi
Path width: 100 yd
Property damage: $250,000
Crop damage: $30,000
Coordinates: 34.730, -112.450

What these are

Tornado: A violently rotating column of air in contact with the ground and extending from a thunderstorm, filed with its path, width and Fujita or Enhanced Fujita rating from the damage survey.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Arizona in 1996 Every state in 1996 This day in weather history The tornado archive for Arizona, 1996 Warnings in Arizona, September 1996

Sources

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5567672.