California Storm & Severe Weather History
Since 1996, California has logged 40,984 severe-weather events — about 1,322 a year — with 1,148 direct deaths, 4,201 injuries and $29.8B in reported property damage.
By event type
High Wind7,14942 d$404.7M
Flood4,23145 d$2.4B
Heavy Snow3,77217 d$5.4M
Flash Flood2,78568 d$1.4B
Dense Fog2,44124 d$23.6M
Strong Wind2,39136 d$40.1M
Heavy Rain2,04622 d$391.9M
Drought1,870—$50K
Winter Storm1,66014 d$23.0M
Wildfire1,592281 d$24.0B
Frost/Freeze1,503—$9.4M
Excessive Heat1,48167 d$7.5M
Winter Weather1,47724 d$1.0M
Heat1,200143 d$200K
Thunderstorm Wind1,11118 d$55.1M
Hail8301 d$24.9M
Events by year
19962026
Notable events (775)
Events with deaths, major damage, or a strong tornado — deadliest first.
WildfireJune 28, 2020
Imperial Valley · 1 killed ·
HeatJune 23, 2020
Fresno · 1 killed ·
Rip CurrentJune 4, 2020
San Francisco · 1 killed ·
Rip CurrentMay 28, 2020
San Francisco · 1 killed ·
Rip CurrentMay 27, 2020
Southern Monterey Bay And Big Sur Coast · 1 killed ·
AvalancheJanuary 17, 2020
Greater Lake Tahoe Area · 1 killed · 1 injured ·
Rip CurrentDecember 24, 2019
Southern Monterey Bay And Big Sur Coast · 1 killed ·
Cold/Wind ChillNovember 29, 2019
Santa Clara Valley Including San Jose · 1 killed ·
Cold/Wind ChillNovember 27, 2019
Santa Clara Valley Including San Jose · 1 killed ·
SneakerwaveNovember 16, 2019
Southern Monterey Bay And Big Sur Coast · 1 killed ·
Strong WindOctober 27, 2019
Northern Monterey Bay · 1 killed ·
Rip CurrentOctober 4, 2019
San Francisco · 1 killed ·
Cold/Wind ChillSeptember 2, 2019
Motherlode/Camptonville To Groveland · 1 killed ·
Excessive HeatAugust 26, 2019
Death Valley National Park · 1 killed ·
HeatJune 10, 2019
Santa Clara Valley Including San Jose · 1 killed ·
Rip CurrentJune 8, 2019
Southern Monterey Bay And Big Sur Coast · 1 killed ·
Rip CurrentMay 13, 2019
San Francisco · 1 killed ·
Rip CurrentMay 4, 2019
Coastal North Bay Including Point Reyes National Seashore · 1 killed ·
High SurfApril 21, 2019
San Francisco Peninsula Coast · 1 killed ·
Rip CurrentApril 18, 2019
San Francisco Peninsula Coast · 1 killed ·
Rip CurrentApril 9, 2019
Coastal North Bay Including Point Reyes National Seashore · 1 killed ·
SneakerwaveMarch 22, 2019
Northern Humboldt Coast · 1 killed ·
High SurfMarch 13, 2019
Southern Monterey Bay And Big Sur Coast · 1 killed ·
FloodFebruary 27, 2019
Humboldt · 1 killed ·
Strong WindJanuary 16, 2019
San Francisco Bay Shoreline · 1 killed ·
Rip CurrentJanuary 12, 2019
Southern Monterey Bay And Big Sur Coast · 1 killed ·
High SurfJanuary 9, 2019
San Diego County Coastal Areas · 1 killed ·
FloodJanuary 7, 2019
Sonoma · 1 killed ·
Strong WindJanuary 6, 2019
San Francisco Bay Shoreline · 1 killed ·
Strong WindDecember 31, 2018
Coastal North Bay Including Point Reyes National Seashore · 1 killed ·
Rip CurrentDecember 13, 2018
Southern Monterey Bay And Big Sur Coast · 1 killed ·
High SurfDecember 7, 2018
San Francisco · 1 killed ·
High WindOctober 15, 2018
Orange County Inland · 1 killed ·
Rip CurrentAugust 1, 2018
San Francisco · 1 killed ·
Excessive HeatJuly 6, 2018
San Diego County Valleys · 1 killed · 50 injured ·
Rip CurrentJuly 1, 2018
San Francisco Peninsula Coast · 1 killed ·
HeatJune 21, 2018
San Diego County Deserts · 1 killed ·
HeatJune 3, 2018
San Diego County Deserts · 1 killed ·
WildfireDecember 4, 2017
Santa Barbara County South Coast · 1 killed ·
WildfireDecember 4, 2017
Santa Barbara County Mountains · 1 killed ·
Source: NOAA/NCEI Storm Events Database. Counts are every logged event since 1996; the "notable" list is filtered to events with fatalities, major damage or a strong tornado. Damage is the reporting office's estimate. A record of past weather is not a forecast. See About the Data.