California

Storms in California in 2008

1,138 events in 310 episodes

Every storm the National Weather Service filed in California in 2008, 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 2008 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
1,138
Deaths
30
Injuries
226
Damage
$283 million
Episodes
310

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
High Wind27400$1.2 million
Strong Wind12448$1.4 million
Winter Storm9313$4.8 million
Heavy Snow9100$2.5 million
Flash Flood84226$18 million
Drought7700
Wildfire672119$188 million
Dense Fog64135$6.3 million
Frost/Freeze5600
Heat4449
Winter Weather3430$3.1 million
Excessive Heat1920
Thunderstorm Wind1800$500,000
Heavy Rain1520$95,000
Hail1400$76,000
Blizzard1311$55 million
Cold/Wind Chill900
Funnel Cloud800
Flood700$7,000
Tornado734$2.0 million
Coastal Flood400
Dust Storm400
High Surf300$2,000
Rip Current331
Avalanche311
Dust Devil1014$3,000
Lightning100
Debris Flow115$81,000

Every episode, month by month

January 2008

February 2008

March 2008

April 2008

May 2008

June 2008

July 2008

August 2008

September 2008

October 2008

November 2008

December 2008

More

Every year in CaliforniaEvery state in 2008Tornadoes in California in 2008Warnings in California in 200820072009

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.