El Dorado County, California

What hazards hit El Dorado County most?

The most frequent records are winter storm records: 1,332 since 1996. 41% of its winter storm records since 1996 fell in January and February. The rank column places the county among California's counties by days with a record per 1,000 square miles of land over each hazard's complete period.

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database (county and forecast-zone records attributed to the county; a zone record shows its own totals on each county it covers). Days: dates with at least one record of the hazard in the county. Ranks: days with a record per 1,000 square miles of land (Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer), since 1950 for tornadoes, 1955 for hail and thunderstorm wind, 1996 for the rest.

How many tornadoes has El Dorado County had?

NOAA records 5 tornadoes in El Dorado County from 1972 to 2020, the strongest rated EF1, with 0 deaths and 0 injuries recorded in the county. That is 29th of 57 California counties by days with tornadoes per 1,000 square miles since 1950. A tornado that crossed a county line is counted in each county it touched, with the length of its path inside the county.

Counted as whole tornadoes rather than county records, the Storm Prediction Center's database holds 5 tornadoes whose track touched El Dorado County since 1950 (NOAA's county records number 5, the same count); along their whole tracks they killed 0 people.

Map of the strongest tornado tracks in California.

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, tornado records by county (path length in the county, maximum width); ratings as published: F scale before February 1, 2007, EF scale after. Whole-track figures: NOAA Storm Prediction Center tornado database (1950-2025). SPC severe weather database.

When was the last damaging storm in El Dorado County?

The most recent record with damage, injuries or deaths is the May 26, 2026 heavy rain (2 deaths and 2 injuries).

Broadcast Media relayed information from California Highway Patrol regarding an accident that occurred on May 26th around 4 PM PDT. Showers and thunderstorms brought wet road conditions on May 26th to Highway 50 in El Dorado County. Just east of Ice House Road, a vehicle veered off the roadway and into the American River. Rainfall amounts of 0.15-0.25 were observed at the time of the incident. A 35 year old woman died at the scene, and a 5 year old boy died in the hospital as a result of the accident. An 11 year old boy and a 41 year old man were injured from this accident.
National Weather Service event narrative, NOAA Storm Events Database (search the full record, event 1331085)

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database; every record of 2025-2026 is listed, earlier ones when they caused deaths, injuries or $250,000 of damage (2025 dollars), and every tornado.

The deadliest and costliest records

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: deaths and injuries direct and indirect; damage is property plus crops as estimated by the National Weather Service, converted to 2025 dollars.

Is it getting more frequent?

Records per decade for El Dorado County's most frequent hazards. Counts rose everywhere after 1996, when NOAA began recording every event type, so compare decades within a hazard's complete period only (the shaded cells come before it).

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records per calendar decade; zone records from the CZ_TYPE field (Z).

What time of year?

41% of its winter storm records since 1996 fell in January and February. The two busiest months are in violet.

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records by the month they began.

Federal disaster declarations for El Dorado County

FEMA's register lists 27 declarations that include El Dorado County: 16 major disasters, 6 emergencies and 5 fire management assistance declarations. Most were for severe storm (8) and flood (8).

Source: FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries (v2), declarations through October 2, 2026; one declaration is counted once however many areas it names. OpenFEMA dataset page.

How many floods has El Dorado County had?

NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 65 flood or flash flood records for El Dorado County from 1996 to 2026, on 40 days, with 3 deaths. By flood insurance claims since 1978 (OpenFEMA, as of September 8, 2026), El Dorado County ranks 922nd of 2,942 U.S. counties.

The National Flood Insurance Program has paid $4.0 million on 207 claims filed in El Dorado County; the most in one year was 40 in 1997. Claims count insured losses only: uninsured flood damage is not in this file.

Source: FEMA OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims, as of September 8, 2026; claims by year of loss, payments in the dollars of the year paid. OpenFEMA dataset page.

FEMA's modeled risk for El Dorado County

FEMA's National Risk Index rates El Dorado County Relatively Moderate overall, with an expected annual loss of $124 million. These are FEMA's model estimates of future loss from 18 hazards, not a count of what happened; they can differ from the record above.

Source: FEMA National Risk Index, county table, December 2025 release. FEMA's National Risk Index map.

Counties that share a border with El Dorado County

1. Placer County 2,214
2. El Dorado County 2,066
3. Douglas County, NV 1,713
4. Alpine County 1,669
5. Sacramento County 582
6. Amador County 281

Source: U.S. Census Bureau county adjacency file; NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records since 1950. The Census Bureau's adjacency file.

Next

• Tornadoes in CaliforniaEvery California tornado since 1950 and the counties with the most per square mile
• Winter storms in CaliforniaThe state's winter storm records, by county, year and month
• The California recordEvery hazard in the state, its deadliest events and its federal declarations
• FEMA's risk rating for each hazard in El Dorado CountyThe hazard risk calculator: 18 hazards beside the county's record
• Download El Dorado County's FEMA declarations (CSV)27 rows: every declaration that named the county, for your own analysis