Kern County, California

What hazards hit Kern County most?

The most frequent records are high wind and dust records: 2,219 since 1998. 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 Kern County had?

NOAA records 16 tornadoes in Kern County from 1988 to 2019, the strongest rated F1, with 0 deaths and 0 injuries recorded in the county. 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 16 tornadoes whose track touched Kern County since 1950 (NOAA's county records number 16, 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 Kern County?

The most recent record with damage, injuries or deaths is the January 27, 2026 dense fog (2 injuries).

CHP reports a multiple car crash on EB SR 58 just east of the Tower Line Rd exit. At least 15 cars were involved. SR 58 EB was closed.
National Weather Service event narrative, NOAA Storm Events Database (search the full record, event 1311128)

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 Kern 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).

Drought in the 2010s: 187 records against 6 in the decade before, 187 of them forecast-zone records. Heat in the 2020-26: 351 records against 81 in the decade before, 351 of them forecast-zone records. Cells marked z rose mostly through zone records. The local National Weather Service office files these once per forecast zone, so a change in how it draws its zones or splits a storm into records moves this count as much as the weather does; read it beside the Kern County days with a record above.

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

What time of year?

Records by month in Kern County. The two busiest months are in violet.

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

Federal disaster declarations for Kern County

FEMA's register lists 40 declarations that include Kern County: 19 major disasters, 6 emergencies and 15 fire management assistance declarations. Most were for fire (17) and flood (7).

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 Kern County had?

NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 472 flood or flash flood records for Kern County from 1997 to 2026, on 182 days, with 0 deaths. By flood insurance claims since 1978 (OpenFEMA, as of September 8, 2026), Kern County ranks 786th of 2,942 U.S. counties.

The National Flood Insurance Program has paid $1.5 million on 280 claims filed in Kern County; the most in one year was 76 in 1998. 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 Kern County

FEMA's National Risk Index rates Kern County Relatively High overall, with an expected annual loss of $417 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 Kern County

1. Kern County 5,583
2. San Bernardino County 3,395
3. Tulare County 3,121
4. Kings County 1,588
5. Los Angeles County 1,395
6. Inyo County 948
7. Ventura County 685
8. Santa Barbara County 532
9. San Luis Obispo County 243

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
• High wind and dust storms in CaliforniaThe state's high wind and dust 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 Kern CountyThe hazard risk calculator: 18 hazards beside the county's record
• Download Kern County's FEMA declarations (CSV)40 rows: every declaration that named the county, for your own analysis