California hurricanes and tropical storms
Every recorded hurricane or tropical storm record since 1996 · 15 counties with a record
NOAA's Storm Events Database records 56 hurricane and tropical storm records in California from 1996 through June 30, 2026, about 4.0 a year since 2000. The deadliest was the October 28, 1999 storm surge/tide in Santa Cruz County: 2 deaths, 4 injuries and $1.8 million in damage in 2025 dollars across 2 records. California ranks 19th of 34 states and territories by count and 25th of 33 per square mile.
Hurricanes and tropical storms in California, 1996 to 2026
Tropical records per year (NOAA Storm Events); 2026 to June 30, 2026.
- recorded, no damage figure
- under $1 million
- $1 million or more
- $10 million or more
- $100 million or more, or 10 deaths
- $1 billion or more, or 100 deaths
- a year's colour: its recorded damage or deaths
- a year with a death
- Records
- 561996 to June 30, 2026
- A year since 2000
- 4.0average
- Deaths
- 533 injuries
- Damage, 2025 dollars
- $16Mas filed
- Busiest year
- 202313 records
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records through June 30, 2026; deaths and damage as filed, damage in 2025 dollars. Search the record at NCEI.
Are hurricane and tropical storm records common in California?
California averages about 4.0 hurricane and tropical storm records a year since 2000, 19th of 34 states and territories by count. The busiest year on record was 2023 (13). Per 10,000 square miles of land, California records 3.6 hurricane and tropical storm records since 1996, 25th of 33 states and territories by that measure.
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records since 1996, per 10,000 square miles of land area (Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer; places under 1,000 square miles not ranked). Damage colours: Storm Events damage, 2025 dollars.
Which counties in California have the most hurricane and tropical storm records?
Per square mile, Marin County leads California: 5 days with a hurricane or tropical storm record since 1996, 9.6 per 1,000 square miles of land. By raw count, San Diego County has the most tropical records (14 since 1996); large counties collect more records simply by covering more ground, so the ranking counts days with a record per unit of area (a storm filed for several forecast zones adds several records but one day).
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, days with a record in the county since 1996 per 1,000 square miles of land (Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer); in brackets, the count of records.
When is hurricane season in California?
43% of its hurricane and tropical storm records since 1996 fell in August and September. The busiest month is August (13 records).
The values, month by month
Jan 9 · Feb 4 · Mar 1 · Apr 0 · May 1 · Jun 1 · Jul 0 · Aug 13 · Sep 11 · Oct 2 · Nov 3 · Dec 11 (records).
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records by the month they began, since 1996.
What were the deadliest hurricane and tropical storm records in California?
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999-10-28 | Storm Surge/TideCapitola, Santa Cruz County One storm episode: 2 records in 2 places, 1999-10-28 to 1999-10-29; the totals are the episode's. 15 foot swell in association with a relatively high tide produced waves as high as 40 feet which broke trough the seawall in Capitola and flooded low lying streets and businesses. A number of boats were ripped from their moorings and washed ashore or sunk. A 20 male surfer was drowned when he was caught in the huge ... | 2 | 4 | $1.8M | |
| 2022-05-29 | Storm Surge/TideHumboldt County · forecast zone Southwestern Humboldt Shelter Cove Fire Department responded to a call about two hikers in the water who had tried to pass a point while hiking The Lost Coast Trail. The tides were not very low this day during the afternoon, nor particularly high, about 4 feet. The swell was around 11 feet at 10 seconds, which brought some larger waves to ... | 1 | 1 | – | |
| 2026-06-09 | Storm Surge/TideOrange County · forecast zone Orange County Coastal 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. | 1 | 0 | – | |
| 2020-11-15 | Storm Surge/TideSan Francisco County · forecast zone San Francisco A person fell into the waters near San Francisco's Sutro Baths Sunday morning and drowned. Rough surf and unusually high tides made for difficult search conditions https://www.lmtonline.com/bayarea/article/Body-reported-at-San-Francisco-s-Sutro-Baths-15728843.php. | 1 | 0 | – |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: deaths direct and indirect, as filed by the National Weather Service, summed over each storm (one episode, or one named storm filed by several offices). Storm names from the titles of FEMA declarations that name the storm's counties.
The costliest hurricane and tropical storm records in California
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997-09-25 | Tropical StormImperial County · forecast zone W & C Imperial | 0 | 0 | $8.3M | |
| 2005-12-31 | Storm Surge/TideDel Norte County and Humboldt County · forecast zone Redwood Coast | 0 | 0 | $2.6M | |
| 1999-10-28 | Storm Surge/TideCapitola, Santa Cruz County One storm episode: 2 records in 2 places, 1999-10-28 to 1999-10-29; the totals are the episode's. | 2 | 4 | $1.8M | |
| 2005-01-08 | Storm Surge/TideMarin County and Sonoma County · forecast zone Sonoma / Marin | 0 | 0 | $1.2M | |
| 2002-12-19 | Storm Surge/TideOceanside, San Diego County | 0 | 0 | $820K | |
| 2001-01-07 | Storm Surge/TideLa Jolla, San Diego County | 0 | 1 | $583K | |
| 2001-01-09 | Storm Surge/TideSeal Beach, Orange County | 0 | 0 | $400K |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: property and crop damage as estimated by the National Weather Service, in 2025 dollars.
Are hurricane and tropical storm records becoming more frequent in California?
California's count per decade against the whole country's, and its share. NOAA recorded every event type only from 1996, so earlier decades are not comparable; the share of the national total is the fairer comparison across decades.
| Decade | California | United States | California's share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1996-99 | 19 | 1,123 | 1.7% |
| 2000s | 17 | 4,928 | 0.3% |
| 2010s | 3 | 2,761 | 0.1% |
| 2020-26 | 17 | 2,697 | 0.6% |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database.
The most recent hurricane and tropical storm records in California
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-06-09 | Storm Surge/TideOrange County · forecast zone Orange County Coastal | 1 | 0 | – | |
| 2022-05-29 | Storm Surge/TideHumboldt County · forecast zone Southwestern Humboldt | 1 | 1 | – | |
| 2020-11-15 | Storm Surge/TideSan Francisco County · forecast zone San Francisco | 1 | 0 | – | |
| 2005-12-31 | Storm Surge/TideDel Norte County and Humboldt County · forecast zone Redwood Coast | 0 | 0 | $2.6M | |
| 2005-01-08 | Storm Surge/TideMarin County and Sonoma County · forecast zone Sonoma / Marin | 0 | 0 | $1.2M | |
| 2002-12-19 | Storm Surge/TideOceanside, San Diego County | 0 | 0 | $820K | |
| 2001-01-09 | Storm Surge/TideSeal Beach, Orange County | 0 | 0 | $400K | |
| 2001-01-07 | Storm Surge/TideLa Jolla, San Diego County | 0 | 1 | $583K | |
| 1999-10-29 | Storm Surge/TidePacific Grove, Monterey County | 0 | 2 | – | |
| 1999-10-28 | Storm Surge/TideCapitola, Santa Cruz County | 2 | 2 | $1.8M | |
| 1997-09-25 | Tropical StormImperial County · forecast zone W & C Imperial | 0 | 0 | $8.3M | |
| 1997-01-01 | Storm Surge/TideRedondo Beach, Los Angeles County | 0 | 27 | – |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records through June 30, 2026; the newest months are revised by NCEI as reports arrive. Search the record at NCEI.
Federal disaster declarations for hurricane and tropical storm records in California
FEMA has declared 7 disasters in California for hurricane and tropical storm, counting its incident type and declarations that name hurricane or tropical storm or typhoon in the title (FEMA files most storm disasters under Severe Storm); 5 were major disasters, the latest on November 21, 2023.
| Declared | Number | Title | Areas named |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023-11-21 | DR-4750 | Tropical Storm Hilary | 5 |
| 2023-10-18 | DR-4746 | Tropical Storm Hilary | 1 |
| 2023-09-27 | DR-4743 | Tropical Storm Hilary | 1 |
| 2005-09-13 | EM-3248 | Hurricane Katrina Evacuation | 58 |
| 1983-02-09 | DR-677 | Coastal Storms, Floods, Slides & Tornadoes | 40 |
| 1980-02-01 | EM-3078 | Torrential Rain, High Tide & Winds | 3 |
| 1976-09-21 | DR-521 | Flooding, Tropical Storm Kathleen | 3 |
Source: FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries (v2), through October 2, 2026. OpenFEMA dataset page.
Next
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