California

Storms in California in 2021

2,820 events in 446 episodes

Every storm the National Weather Service filed in California in 2021, 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 2021 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
2,820
Deaths
41
Injuries
47
Damage
$300 million
Episodes
446

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 Wind48312$201 million
Drought35900
Excessive Heat30645$8.6 million
Dense Fog240411$800,000
Strong Wind21522$50,000
Heavy Snow20200$18,000
Winter Weather18102
Flood14200$17,000
Heavy Rain12400
Heat9920$5,000
Winter Storm7700$10,000
Flash Flood77412$11 million
Wildfire6933$58 million
Debris Flow6001$20 million
Thunderstorm Wind4300$194,000
Frost/Freeze2900
Dust Storm2022$15,000
High Surf1881
Hail1600$4,000
Lightning1410$60,000
Astronomical Low Tide1100
Coastal Flood700
Rip Current730
Cold/Wind Chill553
Tornado400$30,000
Funnel Cloud400
Blizzard403$1.1 million
Avalanche210
Sneakerwave110
Lake-Effect Snow100

Every episode, month by month

January 2021

February 2021

March 2021

April 2021

May 2021

June 2021

July 2021

August 2021

September 2021

October 2021

November 2021

December 2021

More

Every year in CaliforniaEvery state in 2021Tornadoes in California in 2021Warnings in California in 202120202022

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.