Yolo County, California

What hazards hit Yolo County most?

The most frequent records are high wind and dust records: 73 since 1996. 59% 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 Yolo County had?

NOAA records 4 tornadoes in Yolo County from 2005 to 2019, the strongest rated EF0, with 0 deaths and 0 injuries recorded in the county. That is 24th 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 4 tornadoes whose track touched Yolo County since 1950 (NOAA's county records number 4, 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 Yolo County?

The most recent record with damage, injuries or deaths is the January 20, 2026 dense fog (1 death and 2 injuries).

A traffic collision occurred at 7:26 pm on January 20th 2026 in the south bound lanes of Highway 70 by Striplin Road in Sutter County, California. Dense fog was present in Sutter County California on Highway 70, with visibilities of a quarter mile or less. Two cars where involved in the crash, with a woman and an infant with major injuries and a fatality.
National Weather Service event narrative, NOAA Storm Events Database (search the full record, event 1308056)

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 Yolo 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).

High wind and dust storms in the 2010s: 26 records against 8 in the decade before, 26 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 Yolo 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?

59% 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 Yolo County

FEMA's register lists 22 declarations that include Yolo County: 16 major disasters, 4 emergencies and 2 fire management assistance declarations. Most were for severe storm (7) and flood (6).

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 Yolo County had?

NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 63 flood or flash flood records for Yolo County from 1996 to 2026, on 38 days, with 0 deaths. By flood insurance claims since 1978 (OpenFEMA, as of September 8, 2026), Yolo County ranks 685th of 2,942 U.S. counties.

The National Flood Insurance Program has paid $3.3 million on 340 claims filed in Yolo County; the most in one year was 132 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 Yolo County

FEMA's National Risk Index rates Yolo County Relatively Moderate overall, with an expected annual loss of $116 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 Yolo County

1. Sacramento County 582
2. Napa County 511
3. Sutter County 408
4. Solano County 388
5. Colusa County 388
6. Yolo County 308
7. Lake County 256

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 Yolo CountyThe hazard risk calculator: 18 hazards beside the county's record
• Download Yolo County's FEMA declarations (CSV)22 rows: every declaration that named the county, for your own analysis