California

Storms in California in 1997

664 events in 290 episodes

Every storm the National Weather Service filed in California in 1997, with each episode’s narrative and every event in it. From 1996 the record holds 48 kinds of event with each office’s narrative; before that, tornadoes, hail and thunderstorm wind only, and before 1955 tornadoes alone.

California in 1997 on the map

Every episode with a place to put it, colored by kind of event.

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

Open the live radar over California

The year

Events
664
Deaths
42
Injuries
138
Damage
$477 million
Episodes
290

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.

By kind of event

Kind of eventEventsDeathsInjuriesDamage
Flash Flood128612$49 million
High Wind10959$90,000
Winter Storm6401$28,000
Winter Weather52182
Heavy Snow4710$200,000
Flood4512$376 million
Thunderstorm Wind29015$275,000
Heavy Rain2505
High Surf2504
Hail2100$1.7 million
Wildfire2051$42 million
Funnel Cloud1800
Tornado1701$111,000
Heat1700
Tropical Storm1000$4.5 million
Cold/Wind Chill800
Lightning805$1.9 million
Waterspout600
Dense Fog6551$1.6 million
Strong Wind300
Dust Devil300
Storm Surge/Tide1027
Rip Current113
Dust Storm100

Every episode, month by month

January 1997

February 1997

March 1997

April 1997

May 1997

June 1997

July 1997

August 1997

September 1997

October 1997

November 1997

December 1997

More

Every year in CaliforniaEvery state in 1997Tornadoes in California in 1997Warnings in California in 199719961998

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.