Siskiyou County, California
County storm and disaster record · FIPS 06093 · population 43,940 · 6,279 sq mi
NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 1,446 records for Siskiyou County, California from 1950 through June 30, 2026, on 751 days; the most frequent are winter storm records (658 records). 1,354 of them are forecast-zone records, which the National Weather Service files once per zone: a county covered by several zones receives each one, so a single storm can add several records on the same day. The deadliest single record is the August 1, 2022 wildfire, filed for the forecast zone Western Siskiyou County, which covers the county: 4 deaths. FEMA has issued 23 declarations naming the county since 1964, 21 of them for natural hazards; the latest for a natural hazard was “Tropical Storm Hilary” on November 21, 2023.
The record, 1950 to 2026
Storm records filed for the county each year (2026 to June 30, 2026). Before 1996 NOAA recorded only tornadoes (from 1950), thunderstorm wind and hail (from 1955).
- recorded, no damage figure
- under $100,000
- $100,000 or more
- $1 million or more
- $10 million or more, or a death
- $100 million or more, or 10 deaths
- a year's colour: its recorded damage or deaths
- a year with a death
- 1955: wind and hail recorded from 1955
- 1996: all 48 event types from 1996
- Storm records
- 1,446on 751 days, 1950 to June 30, 2026
- Deaths recorded
- 1217 injuries
- Damage, 2025 dollars
- $264Mas filed (scale steps before 1993)
- Tornadoes
- 1strongest F1
- FEMA declarations
- 23latest 2023
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records through June 30, 2026 (file revision 20260918); damage converted to 2025 dollars with the BLS CPI-U. Search the record at NCEI. BLS consumer price index.
What hazards hit Siskiyou County most?
The most frequent records are winter storm records: 658 since 1998. 47% of its winter storm records since 1998 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.
| Hazard | Records | Days | First, last | Killed | Injured | Damage | Rank in state |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winter storms | 658 | 287 | 1998-2026 | 1 | 11 | $2.7M | 26 of 57 |
| Extreme cold | 296 | 196 | 1999-2026 | 1 | 4 | – | 12 of 57 |
| High wind and dust storms | 223 | 150 | 1996-2026 | 0 | 0 | – | 47 of 57 |
| Wildfires | 131 | 86 | 2003-2025 | 8 | 0 | $230M | 33 of 57 |
| Heat | 39 | 17 | 2017-2024 | 0 | 0 | – | 46 of 57 |
| Floods | 38 | 29 | 1997-2023 | 1 | 1 | $31M | 52 of 57 |
| Hail | 23 | 19 | 1958-2018 | 0 | 0 | – | 39 of 57 |
| Severe thunderstorm wind | 15 | 12 | 1990-2024 | 0 | 0 | $321K | 41 of 57 |
| Landslides and avalanches | 11 | 10 | 2013-2021 | 1 | 0 | – | 38 of 57 |
| Heavy rain | 9 | 5 | 1998-2023 | 0 | 0 | – | 56 of 57 |
| Lightning | 2 | 2 | 2003-2018 | 0 | 1 | – | 36 of 57 |
| Tornadoes | 1 | 1 | 1958-1958 | 0 | 0 | – | 48 of 57 |
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 Siskiyou County had?
NOAA records 1 tornado in Siskiyou County from 1958 to 1958, 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 1 tornado whose track touched Siskiyou County since 1950 (NOAA's county records number 1, the same count); along their whole tracks they killed 0 people.
Map of the strongest tornado tracks in California.
Every tornado record filed for Siskiyou County (1)
| Date | Place | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1958-05-22 | Siskiyou County | F1 2.7 mi x 50 yd | 0 | 0 | – |
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 Siskiyou County?
The most recent record with damage, injuries or deaths is the September 2, 2022 wildfire (2 deaths).
The Mill Fire started in the town of Weed at 1249 PDT on 09/02/22. The cause was under investigation. The fire spread rapidly in the town. As of the last report at 0530 PST on 9/13/22, the fire covered 3935 acres and was 100 percent contained. 118 structures were lost and 14.5 million dollars had been spent on firefighting efforts. Two people were killed by the fire.
National Weather Service event narrative, NOAA Storm Events Database (search the full record, event 1044021)
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-04-20 | High WindSiskiyou County · forecast zone Central Siskiyou County | 54 kt wind | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2026-04-16 | Frost/FreezeSiskiyou County · forecast zone Western Siskiyou County | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-04-03 | Frost/FreezeSiskiyou County · forecast zone Western Siskiyou County | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-02-21 | High WindSiskiyou County · forecast zone Central Siskiyou County | 52 kt wind | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2026-02-16 | Winter StormSiskiyou County · forecast zone North Central & Southeast Siskiyou County | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-02-16 | Winter StormSiskiyou County · forecast zone South Central Siskiyou County | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-02-16 | Winter StormSiskiyou County · forecast zone Western Siskiyou County | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-01-03 | Winter StormSiskiyou County · forecast zone North Central & Southeast Siskiyou County | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-01-03 | Winter StormSiskiyou County · forecast zone South Central Siskiyou County | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-01-03 | Winter StormSiskiyou County · forecast zone Western Siskiyou County | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2025-12-25 | Winter StormModoc County and Siskiyou County · forecast zone Northeast Siskiyou And Northwest Modoc Counties | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2025-12-24 | Winter StormSiskiyou County · forecast zone North Central & Southeast Siskiyou County | 0 | 0 | – |
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
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022-08-01 | WildfireSiskiyou County · forecast zone Western Siskiyou County The McKinney Wildfire started around 1415 PDT on 07/29/22. The cause remains under investigation. Initially, it spread slowly, but winds from nearby thunderstorms caused it to spread rapidly on 07/30/22. As of 0530 PST on 09/01/22, the fire covered 60138 acres and was 99% contained. 185 structures were lost, and 73.7 ... | 4 | 0 | – | |
| 2022-09-02 | WildfireSiskiyou County · forecast zone Central Siskiyou County The Mill Fire started in the town of Weed at 1249 PDT on 09/02/22. The cause was under investigation. The fire spread rapidly in the town. As of the last report at 0530 PST on 9/13/22, the fire covered 3935 acres and was 100 percent contained. 118 structures were lost and 14.5 million dollars had been spent on ... | 2 | 0 | – | |
| 2010-01-20 | Heavy SnowSiskiyou County · forecast zone South Central Siskiyou County A spotter ESE Mount Shasta City reported 10 inches of snow in 9.5 hours between 20/0100 and 20/1030 PST, then 10-12 inches in 12 hours ending at 21/0030 PST. Later he reported a total accumulation of 48 inches of snow in 41.5 hours between 19/1700 and 21/1030 PST. A spotter 4SW Weed reported 24 inches of snow between ... | 1 | 11 | $2.7M | |
| 2022-06-04 | Extreme Cold/Wind ChillSiskiyou County · forecast zone South Central Siskiyou County Climbing conditions were dangerous on Mount Shasta beginning June 4th and continuing through June 5th. It was windy and icy on the mountain during that interval. Three climbers were removed from the mountain at 06/0839 PDT. Two of them were injured and one died. Two more injured climbers were rescued on the afternoon ... | 1 | 4 | – | |
| 2021-02-03 | AvalancheSiskiyou County · forecast zone Western Siskiyou County Two skiers skiing in the backcountry near Etna Summit in Siskiyou county were swept away by an avalanches at about 2 PM PST on 02/03/21. One of the skiers was able to dig himself out. He was able to dig the other skier out and tried life-saving efforts that ultimately failed. He skied out until he got cell phone ... | 1 | 0 | – | |
| 2018-07-05 | WildfireSiskiyou County · forecast zone Central Siskiyou County The Klamathon Wildfire started on 07/05/18 at 0031 PDT by someone burning debris. As of the last report at 22/0330 PST, the fire covered 38008 acres and was 100 percent contained. 33.5 million dollars had been expended on firefighting efforts. One death was reported and 82 structures were lost. | 1 | 0 | – | |
| 2008-07-22 | WildfireSiskiyou County · forecast zone Western Siskiyou County Lightning from a thunderstorm event on 07/22/08 ignited another round of wildfires across northern California. The Panther Wildfire started this day around 3:00 AM. It was still burning at the end of July. As of 0430 PDT on 08/01/08, this fire was 5338 acres in size and 0% contained with an estimated containment date ... | 1 | 0 | – | |
| 2005-12-31 | FloodSiskiyou County · forecast zone Central Siskiyou County See fatality narrative | 1 | 0 | $11M |
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006-10-01 | WildfireSiskiyou County · forecast zone Western Siskiyou County | 0 | 0 | $113M | |
| 2006-08-01 | WildfireSiskiyou County · forecast zone Western Siskiyou County | 0 | 0 | $34M | |
| 2014-09-15 | WildfireSiskiyou County · forecast zone Central Siskiyou County | 0 | 0 | $25M | |
| 1997-01-01 | FloodSiskiyou County · forecast zone Siskiyou | 0 | 0 | $20M | |
| 2006-08-01 | WildfireSiskiyou County · forecast zone Western Siskiyou County | 0 | 0 | $17M | |
| 2006-08-01 | WildfireSiskiyou County · forecast zone Western Siskiyou County | 0 | 0 | $16M | |
| 2005-12-31 | FloodSiskiyou County · forecast zone Central Siskiyou County | 1 | 0 | $11M | |
| 2006-07-26 | WildfireSiskiyou County · forecast zone Western Siskiyou County | 0 | 0 | $8.8M |
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 Siskiyou 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).
| Hazard | 1950s | 1960s | 1970s | 1980s | 1990s | 2000s | 2010s | 2020-26 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winter storms | – | – | – | – | 24 | 364 | 159 | 111 |
| Extreme cold | – | – | – | – | 30 | 82 | 141 | 43 |
| High wind and dust storms | – | – | – | – | 15 | 93 | 75 | 40 |
| Wildfires | – | – | – | – | 0 | 33 | 40 | 58 |
| Heat | – | – | – | – | 0 | 0 | 8 | 31 z |
| Floods | – | – | – | – | 11 | 14 | 10 | 3 |
Heat in the 2020-26: 31 records against 8 in the decade before, 31 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 Siskiyou 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?
47% of its winter storm records since 1998 fell in December and January. The two busiest months are in violet.
The values, month by month
Jan 185 · Feb 203 · Mar 142 · Apr 54 · May 34 · Jun 65 · Jul 99 · Aug 70 · Sep 95 · Oct 141 · Nov 107 · Dec 251 (records).
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records by the month they began.
Federal disaster declarations for Siskiyou County
FEMA's register lists 23 declarations that include Siskiyou County: 14 major disasters, 3 emergencies and 6 fire management assistance declarations. Most were for fire (7) and flood (6).
| Declared | Number | Type | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023-11-21 | DR-4750 | Hurricane | Tropical Storm Hilary |
| 2023-01-14 | DR-4683 | Flood | Severe Winter Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides |
| 2022-09-02 | FM-5450 | Fire | Mill Fire |
| 2021-06-29 | FM-5393 | Fire | Lava Fire |
| 2020-10-16 | DR-4569 | Fire | Wildfires |
| 2020-09-09 | FM-5361 | Fire | Slater Fire |
| 2020-03-22 | DR-4482 | Biological | Covid-19 Pandemic |
| 2020-03-13 | EM-3428 | Biological | Covid-19 |
| 2018-07-05 | FM-5250 | Fire | Klamathon Fire |
| 2017-04-01 | DR-4308 | Flood | Severe Winter Storms, Flooding, and Mudslides |
| 2017-02-14 | DR-4301 | Severe Storm | Severe Winter Storms, Flooding, and Mudslides |
| 2014-09-15 | FM-5079 | Fire | Boles Fire |
| 2014-08-02 | FM-5068 | Fire | Oregon Gulch Fire |
| 2010-03-08 | DR-1884 | Severe Storm | Severe Winter Storms, Flooding, and Debris and Mud Flows |
| 2006-02-03 | DR-1628 | Severe Storm | Severe Storms, Flooding, Mudslides, and Landslides |
| 2005-09-13 | EM-3248 | Hurricane | Hurricane Katrina Evacuation |
| 1997-01-04 | DR-1155 | Severe Storm | Severe Storms, Flooding, Mud and Landslides |
| 1995-03-12 | DR-1046 | Severe Storm | Severe Winter Storms, Flooding Landslides, Mud Flow |
| 1993-02-03 | DR-979 | Flood | Severe Winter Storm, Mud & Land Slides, & Flooding |
| 1977-01-20 | EM-3023 | Drought | Drought |
| 1974-01-25 | DR-412 | Flood | Severe Storms & Flooding |
| 1970-02-16 | DR-283 | Flood | Severe Storms & Flooding |
| 1964-12-24 | DR-183 | Flood | Heavy Rains & Flooding |
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 Siskiyou County had?
NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 38 flood or flash flood records for Siskiyou County from 1997 to 2023, on 29 days, with 1 death. By flood insurance claims since 1978 (OpenFEMA, as of September 8, 2026), Siskiyou County ranks 1504th of 2,942 U.S. counties.
The National Flood Insurance Program has paid $470,000 on 67 claims filed in Siskiyou County; the most in one year was 28 in 1997. Claims count insured losses only: uninsured flood damage is not in this file.
The values, year by year
1980: 1 · 1981: 4 · 1982: 3 · 1983: 1 · 1986: 1 · 1991: 2 · 1995: 3 · 1996: 17 · 1997: 28 · 2005: 4 · 2006: 1 · 2015: 1 · 2017: 1; the other years: 0.
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 Siskiyou County
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Siskiyou County Relatively Moderate overall, with an expected annual loss of $57.0 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.
| Hazard | Risk rating | Expected annual loss | Modeled frequency |
|---|---|---|---|
| Drought | Relatively High | $5.4M | 74 modeled event-days a year |
| Wildfire | Relatively High | $14M | once in about 129 years (modeled) |
| Volcanic Activity | Relatively High | $1.6M | once in about 417 years (modeled) |
| Landslide | Relatively Moderate | $47K | 7.5 a year (modeled) |
| Riverine Flooding | Relatively Moderate | $31M | 1 a year (modeled) |
| Avalanche | Relatively Moderate | $502K | once in about 30 years (modeled) |
| Winter Weather | Relatively Moderate | $118K | 30 a year (modeled) |
| Earthquake | Relatively Low | $2.9M | once in about 50 years (modeled) |
Source: FEMA National Risk Index, county table, December 2025 release. FEMA's National Risk Index map.
Counties that share a border with Siskiyou County
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 Siskiyou CountyThe hazard risk calculator: 18 hazards beside the county's record
- Download Siskiyou County's FEMA declarations (CSV)23 rows: every declaration that named the county, for your own analysis