Tornadoes · United States

Tornadoes in California

486 tornadoes since 1950, an average of 6.4 a year, 31st of the 53 states and territories in the record. They have killed 0 people and injured 97. None was rated F4 or above.

The rating scale

Tracks are drawn in the color of the rating. The United States rated tornadoes on Ted Fujita’s F scale until 31 January 2007 and on the Enhanced Fujita scale after it. Both run from 0 to 5, and both rate the damage rather than measure the wind: the speeds are what that damage is taken to imply.

  1. F0 / EF040 to 72 mph on the F scale, 65 to 85 mph on the EF scale

    Light damage. Surface peeled off some roofs, gutters and siding damaged, branches broken, shallow-rooted trees pushed over.

  2. F1 / EF173 to 112 mph on the F scale, 86 to 110 mph on the EF scale

    Moderate damage. Roofs badly stripped, mobile homes overturned or badly damaged, exterior doors lost, windows broken.

  3. F2 / EF2113 to 157 mph on the F scale, 111 to 135 mph on the EF scale

    Considerable damage. Roofs torn off well-built houses, frame homes shifted on their foundations, mobile homes destroyed, large trees snapped or uprooted, cars lifted off the ground.

  4. F3 / EF3158 to 206 mph on the F scale, 136 to 165 mph on the EF scale

    Severe damage. Whole stories of well-built houses destroyed, large buildings badly damaged, trains overturned, trees debarked, heavy cars lifted and thrown.

  5. F4 / EF4207 to 260 mph on the F scale, 166 to 200 mph on the EF scale

    Devastating damage. Well-built houses leveled, structures with weak foundations moved some distance, cars thrown and large missiles generated.

  6. F5 / EF5261 to 318 mph on the F scale, over 200 mph on the EF scale

    Incredible damage. Strong frame houses swept off their foundations, car-sized missiles thrown more than 100 meters, steel-reinforced concrete badly damaged, high-rise buildings deformed.

  7. Unrated

    The survey recorded a tornado but could not put a number on it, most often because it crossed open country and damaged nothing a rating can be read from.

The strongest

  1. F3, Orange County, CaliforniaFebruary 9, 1978F3, 2.0 mi (3 km)
  2. F3, Riverside County, CaliforniaAugust 16, 1973F3, 0.1 mi (0 km)
  3. F2, Kings and Tulare counties, CaliforniaApril 5, 1980F2, 15.0 mi (24 km)
  4. F2, Sonoma County, CaliforniaJune 1, 1958F2, 15.0 mi (24 km)
  5. EF2, Madera County, CaliforniaSeptember 5, 2020EF2, 12.0 mi (19 km)
  6. F2, Los Angeles County, CaliforniaNovember 7, 1966F2, 10.3 mi (17 km)
  7. F2, Los Angeles County, CaliforniaNovember 9, 1982F2, 10.0 mi (16 km)
  8. F2, Santa Clara County, CaliforniaJanuary 11, 1951F2, 5.7 mi (9 km)
  9. F2, Los Angeles County, CaliforniaMarch 1, 1983F2, 3.5 mi (6 km)
  10. EF2, Riverside County, CaliforniaMay 22, 2008EF2, 2.8 mi (5 km)
  11. F2, Tehama County, CaliforniaSeptember 24, 1986F2, 2.0 mi (3 km)
  12. F2, Humboldt County, CaliforniaMarch 29, 1958F2, 2.0 mi (3 km)

The longest paths

  1. EF1, Glenn County, CaliforniaMay 25, 201126.4 mi (42 km)
  2. EF1, Glenn County, CaliforniaMay 25, 201121.6 mi (35 km)
  3. F2, Kings and Tulare counties, CaliforniaApril 5, 198015.0 mi (24 km)
  4. F2, Sonoma County, CaliforniaJune 1, 195815.0 mi (24 km)
  5. EF0, Riverside County, CaliforniaJanuary 21, 201014.3 mi (23 km)
  6. EF0, Kern County, CaliforniaSeptember 1, 200713.1 mi (21 km)
  7. EF2, Madera County, CaliforniaSeptember 5, 202012.0 mi (19 km)
  8. F1, Orange County, CaliforniaMarch 16, 197710.9 mi (18 km)
  9. F2, Los Angeles County, CaliforniaNovember 7, 196610.3 mi (17 km)
  10. EF0, Riverside County, CaliforniaApril 21, 201510.0 mi (16 km)
  11. F2, Los Angeles County, CaliforniaNovember 9, 198210.0 mi (16 km)
  12. F1, San Bernardino County, CaliforniaMay 18, 19979.0 mi (14 km)

The costliest

  1. EF1, Riverside County, CaliforniaAugust 6, 2015$18 million
  2. F2, Santa Clara County, CaliforniaMay 5, 1998$3.8 million
  3. EF0, Riverside County, CaliforniaJanuary 21, 2010$3.0 million
  4. EF1, El Dorado County, CaliforniaDecember 24, 2015$1.0 million
  5. EF1, Stanislaus County, CaliforniaNovember 15, 2015$1.0 million
  6. F1, Sonoma County, CaliforniaDecember 5, 1998$1.0 million
  7. F1, San Mateo County, CaliforniaMarch 20, 2005$800,000
  8. EF0, Tulare County, CaliforniaJanuary 27, 2008$750,000
  9. F0, Sacramento County, CaliforniaFebruary 21, 2005$650,000
  10. EF1, Fresno County, CaliforniaJanuary 17, 2019$500,000
  11. EF1, Orange County, CaliforniaJanuary 19, 2010$500,000
  12. F1, Merced County, CaliforniaDecember 16, 2002$400,000

The biggest days in California

  1. April 1, 19967tornadoes
  2. November 9, 19827tornadoes
  3. March 26, 20145tornadoes
  4. October 22, 20125tornadoes
  5. April 8, 20055tornadoes
  6. May 22, 20084tornadoes
  7. February 19, 20054tornadoes
  8. December 29, 20044tornadoes
  9. February 27, 20004tornadoes
  10. December 5, 19984tornadoes
  11. November 22, 19964tornadoes
  12. December 7, 19924tornadoes

Every year

Every year of the published record, and above it the 1 tornado track surveyed in California so far in 2026. This year's figures are preliminary and are not in the totals above, which are SPC's published database.

YearTornadoesDeathsInjuriesF4 and above
2026 preliminary1
20254
202445
2023102
20224
20214
20208
201914
20186
20173
20164
2015102
20149
20135
201212
20119
20109
20092
200871
20076
20069
200530
200410
20023
20017
20009
19993
1998253
199717
1996221
19957
199492
1993133
1992206
1991163
19905
19894
19886
19874
198681
19853
19842
1983934
1982143
19813
198084
19794
1978147
197734
19766
19753
197431
19731
19724
19712
19702
19691
19675
1966510
19655
19644
19624
196113
19601
19591
195810
19571
195622
19553
19541
19532
19521
19511

Every county in California

A tornado is counted once for every county its path crossed, so these add up to more than 486. Each county has a page of its own: every tornado that crossed it, year by year.

CountyTornadoesDeaths
Los Angeles County49
San Bernardino County33
Fresno County32
Orange County32
Riverside County27
San Diego County27
San Joaquin County19
Butte County18
Merced County17
Sacramento County16
Kern County16
Tulare County14
Stanislaus County13
Sonoma County13
Madera County12
Tehama County12
Glenn County11
Kings County8
Santa Cruz County8
Ventura County8
Imperial County7
Santa Barbara County7
Santa Clara County6
Del Norte County6
Placer County6
Sutter County6
El Dorado County5
Monterey County5
Contra Costa County5
Mendocino County4
San Mateo County4
Solano County4
Yuba County4
San Luis Obispo County4
Yolo County4
Colusa County4
Lassen County4
Mariposa County3
Alameda County3
Humboldt County2
Calaveras County2
San Benito County2
Inyo County2
Clark County1
Siskiyou County1
Marin County1
Mohave County1
Nevada County1
Napa County1
Tuolumne County1

Nearby

Warnings in force in CaliforniaForecast for your townThe live radar over California

What this means

Ratings are the survey's, read off the damage rather than measured; the rating scale is above. Tornado counts rise through the record as reporting improved, so a year in the 1950s is not comparable with one today except for the strongest tornadoes, which were always noticed.

Sources

NOAA Storm Prediction Center tornado database, 1950-2025, the official record kept by NOAA's Storm Prediction Center.