California, 1997

Tornado in California, August 7, 1997

August 7, 1997 · NWS VEF · 2 events in 1 county or zone

1 tornado, 1 funnel cloud, as filed by the National Weather Service.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 1 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. 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
None recorded
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
2

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.

The radar

The Las Vegas radar (KESX), 125 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 01:32 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 tornado, 1 funnel cloud. Local standard time, as filed.

Tornado, San Bernardino

When
August 7, 5:33 PM PST
Where
San Bernardino County, 16 mi S of Needles
Rating
F0
Path length
0.1 mi
Path width
25 yd
Coordinates
34.600, -114.600

A Mohave County Deputy Sheriff sighted a tornado briefly touching down in open country near I-40.

Funnel Cloud, San Bernardino

When
August 7, 6:08 PM PST
Where
San Bernardino County, 16 mi SW of Needles
Coordinates
34.841, -116.178 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

A Skywarn Spotter observed a funnel cloud near I-40 just west of Topock, AZ.

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.
Funnel Cloud
A rotating column of cloud extending from a thunderstorm that did not reach the ground.

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

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in California in 1997Every state in 1997This day in weather historyThe tornado archive for California, 1997Warnings in California, August 1997

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: 5619625, 5619626.