California

Storms in California in 2012

889 events in 253 episodes

Every storm the National Weather Service filed in California in 2012, 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 2012 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
889
Deaths
27
Injuries
78
Damage
$37 million
Episodes
253

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 Wind16805$982,000
Flash Flood11527$6.7 million
Flood7612$401,000
Strong Wind6910$287,000
Winter Storm5940$16 million
Frost/Freeze5500
Heavy Snow5300$1,000
Dense Fog4432$479,000
Heavy Rain4200
Winter Weather3600$1,000
Thunderstorm Wind2711
Wildfire22126$5.5 million
Heat21320
Debris Flow19312$1.4 million
Dust Storm1401$280,000
Funnel Cloud1300
Hail1300$50
High Surf1200$75,000
Tornado1222$4.7 million
Lightning610
Avalanche310
Coastal Flood300
Rip Current220$1,000
Dust Devil200$50,000
Blizzard200
Sneakerwave120

Every episode, month by month

January 2012

February 2012

March 2012

April 2012

May 2012

June 2012

July 2012

August 2012

September 2012

October 2012

November 2012

December 2012

More

Every year in CaliforniaEvery state in 2012Tornadoes in California in 2012Warnings in California in 201220112013

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.