California Storm & Severe Weather History
Since 1951, California has logged 41,535 severe-weather events — about 561 a year — with 1,150 direct deaths, 4,296 injuries and $29.9B 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
Thunderstorm Wind1,33620 d$56.2M
Heat1,200143 d$200K
Hail9361 d$26.0M
Events by year
19512026
Notable events (781)
Events with deaths, major damage, or a strong tornado — deadliest first.
Flash FloodJanuary 1, 1997
El Dorado · $10.0M damage
Tornado (F3)February 9, 1978
Orange · 6 injured · $2.5M damage
WildfireJuly 12, 2020
San Diego County Coastal Areas · 68 injured · $1.0M damage
Dense FogFebruary 5, 2002
E Central Sj Valley · 40 injured · $450K damage
Dense FogApril 22, 2000
San Bernardino County Mountains · 32 injured · $210K damage
Dense FogFebruary 8, 2002
Kern Cty Mtns · 40 injured · $200K damage
Dust StormFebruary 11, 1999
Riverside County Valley/The Inland Empire · 30 injured · $150K damage
Tornado (F3)August 16, 1973
Riverside · $25K damage
Excessive HeatSeptember 5, 2020
San Diego County Valleys · 77 injured ·
WildfireSeptember 4, 2020
Central Sierra · 29 injured ·
HeatOctober 4, 2014
San Diego County Valleys · 75 injured ·
WildfireSeptember 1, 2007
Santa Barbara County Mountains · 38 injured ·
Rip CurrentJanuary 6, 2003
San Diego · 25 injured ·
Dense FogNovember 3, 2002
X Se Los Angeles · 41 injured ·
Heavy SnowMarch 17, 2002
San Diego T X W · 32 injured ·
Winter WeatherApril 7, 2001
San Diego County Mountains · 65 injured ·
Winter StormFebruary 13, 2001
San Diego County Mountains · 26 injured ·
WildfireAugust 1, 2000
San Diego · 29 injured ·
HeatJune 14, 2000
San Francisco · 30 injured ·
HeatJune 14, 2000
Santa Clara · 44 injured ·
Storm Surge/TideJanuary 1, 1997
Los Angeles · 27 injured ·
Source: NOAA/NCEI Storm Events Database, 1950 to date. The early decades (tornadoes from 1950, hail and wind from 1955) are mostly tornadoes; all event types are recorded consistently only from 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.