Orange County, California

What hazards hit Orange County most?

The most frequent records are high wind and dust records: 309 since 1996. 45% of its high wind and dust records since 1996 fell in December and January. 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 Orange County had?

NOAA records 31 tornadoes in Orange County from 1958 to 2010, the strongest rated F3, with 0 deaths and 13 injuries recorded in the county. That is 1st 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 32 tornadoes whose track touched Orange County since 1950 (NOAA's county records number 31: they file a crossing tornado once per county segment, and the two databases differ on some tracks); 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 Orange County?

The most recent record with damage, injuries or deaths is the June 9, 2026 storm surge/tide (1 death).

Lifeguard reported 8 foot surf. Three people were swept out to sea. Two were rescued. One child (5 years old) was swept out with the body found 2 days later. Time is approximated. Body was recovered approximately 250-300 yards offshore from Christmas Cove, on Thursday morning, 11th of June.
National Weather Service event narrative, NOAA Storm Events Database (search the full record, event 1356758)

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 Orange 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).

Heat in the 2010s: 18 records against 6 in the decade before, 18 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 Orange 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?

45% of its high wind and dust records since 1996 fell in December and January. The two busiest months are in violet.

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

Federal disaster declarations for Orange County

FEMA's register lists 42 declarations that include Orange County: 24 major disasters, 7 emergencies and 11 fire management assistance declarations. Most were for fire (19) and flood (11).

The 40 most recent of 42 are listed; the CSV has every one.

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 Orange County had?

NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 157 flood or flash flood records for Orange County from 1997 to 2026, on 111 days, with 2 deaths. By flood insurance claims since 1978 (OpenFEMA, as of September 8, 2026), Orange County ranks 116th of 2,942 U.S. counties.

The National Flood Insurance Program has paid $21.2 million on 3,839 claims filed in Orange County; the most in one year was 621 in 1995. 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 Orange County

FEMA's National Risk Index rates Orange County Very High overall, with an expected annual loss of $1.9 billion. 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 Orange County

1. San Bernardino County 3,395
2. Riverside County 2,854
3. San Diego County 2,725
4. Los Angeles County 1,395
5. Orange County 1,090

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 Orange CountyThe hazard risk calculator: 18 hazards beside the county's record
• Download Orange County's FEMA declarations (CSV)42 rows: every declaration that named the county, for your own analysis