Tornado, Del Norte
- When
- January 20, 11:30 AM PST to 11:33 AM PST
- Where
- Del Norte County, Smith River to 1 mi NW of Smith River
- Rating
- F0
- Path length
- 0.3 mi
- Path width
- 30 yd
- Property damage
- $2,000
- Coordinates
- 41.950, -124.170
Tornado in California, January 20, 1996
A waterspout came ashore near the mouth of the Smith River. About two dozen trees were snapped off at the 20 foot level.
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
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- $2,000
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- 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 EKA wrote it up.
A waterspout came ashore near the mouth of the Smith River. About two dozen trees were snapped off at the 20 foot level. The largest trees were up to two feet in diameter. A portion of one tree fell on the porch of a residence, demolishing the porch.
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
1 tornado. Local standard time, as filed.
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
- Flood in District of Columbia, January 20 to 23, 1996
- Flooding in Ohio, January 20 to 22, 1996
- Flooding in West Virginia, January 20 to 22, 1996
- Flooding in Kentucky, January 20 to 23, 1996
- Flood in Maryland, January 20 to 22, 1996
- High Wind in Wyoming, January 20 to 21, 1996
- Heavy Snow in Washington, January 20, 1996
- Heavy Snow in Oregon, January 20 to 21, 1996
- Heavy Snow in Idaho, January 20 to 21, 1996
- High Wind in Alaska, January 20 to 21, 1996
- High Wind in Oregon, January 20 to 21, 1996
- High Wind in Colorado, January 20, 1996
More
Every storm in California in 1996Every state in 1996This day in weather historyThe tornado archive for California, 1996Warnings in California, January 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: 5536203.