Tornado, San Bernardino
- When
- August 25, 11:20 AM PST to 11:30 AM PST
- Where
- San Bernardino County, Nipton to 5 mi SW of Nipton
- Rating
- F0
- Path length
- 1 mi
- Path width
- 20 yd
- Reported by
- BROADCAST MEDIA
- Coordinates
- 35.420, -115.330
Tornado and Flash Flood in California, August 25, 1998
A small tornado was caught on videotape approximately 5 miles southwest of Nipton. At about the same time, a hood was reportedly ripped off a dump truck in the same vicinity and a truck was blown off Interstate 15 near Highway 164 (the Nipton Road).
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
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- $30,000
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 3
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 VEF wrote it up.
A small tornado was caught on videotape approximately 5 miles southwest of Nipton. At about the same time, a hood was reportedly ripped off a dump truck in the same vicinity and a truck was blown off Interstate 15 near Highway 164 (the Nipton Road). The slow moving severe thunderstorm responsible for the tornado also produced an estimated 4 to 5 inches of rain over the same area. Serious flash flooding resulted as reported by the California Highway Patrol. Several cars were stranded by flood waters and some were swept off the Nipton Road near Interstate 15. Large rocks, trees, debris and water blocked Highway 64 between Nipton and Interstate 15.
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
1 tornado, 1 thunderstorm wind, 1 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.
Thunderstorm Wind, San Bernardino
- When
- August 25, 11:30 AM PST
- Where
- San Bernardino County, 8 mi W of Nipton
- Property damage
- $5,000
- Reported by
- BROADCAST MEDIA
- Coordinates
- 35.470, -115.420
Flash Flood, San Bernardino
- When
- August 25, 12:00 PM PST
- Where
- San Bernardino County, 4 mi W of Nipton
- Property damage
- $25,000
- Reported by
- DEPT OF HIGHWAYS
- Coordinates
- 34.841, -116.178 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
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.
- Thunderstorm Wind
- Winds from a thunderstorm of 50 knots (58 mph) or more, or lower winds that caused damage or casualties. Measured gusts are marked MG, estimated EG.
- Flash Flood
- Flooding that begins within six hours of the rain that causes it, or of a dam or levee failure or ice jam release, often with deadly speed.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Tornadoes and Flood in Michigan, August 25, 1998
- Tornado and Hail in Ohio, August 25, 1998
- Tornadoes and Damaging Winds in Indiana, August 25, 1998
- Damaging Wind in Ohio, August 25, 1998
- Flash Flood in Ohio, August 25, 1998
- Flood in Ohio, August 25 to 27, 1998
- Tornado in Ohio, August 25, 1998
- Flood and Damaging Winds in Ohio, August 25, 1998
- Flash Flood in Ohio, August 25, 1998
- Lightning Strike in Michigan, August 25, 1998
- Damaging Winds and Lightning Strikes in Connecticut, August 25 to 26, 1998
- Flash Flood in Ohio, August 25, 1998
More
Every storm in California in 1998Every state in 1998This day in weather historyThe tornado archive for California, 1998Warnings in California, August 1998
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: 5665090, 5665189, 5665188.