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Tornadoes in California

California has recorded 486 tornadoes from 1950 through 2025, about 8.8 per year over the last 30 years. March is the most active month.

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Map data: NWS, OpenFreeMap, OpenStreetMap

Tornadoes per year

96: 22962297: 17971798: 25982599: 399300: 900901: 701702: 302304: 10041005: 30053006: 906907: 607608: 708709: 209210: 910911: 911912: 12121213: 513514: 914915: 10151016: 416417: 317318: 618619: 14191420: 820821: 421422: 422423: 10231024: 424425: 4254
California tornadoes per year, 1996–2025
50s: 2250s2260s: 2660s2670s: 4270s4280s: 6180s6190s: 13790s13700s: 8300s8310s: 8110s8120s: 3420s34
Tornadoes per decade (the 2020s are partial)

When tornadoes happen in California

Jan: 57Jan57Feb: 69Feb69Mar: 86Mar86Apr: 59Apr59May: 41May41Jun: 13Jun13Jul: 17Jul17Aug: 21Aug21Sep: 24Sep24Oct: 19Oct19Nov: 33Nov33Dec: 47Dec47
Tornadoes by month, 1950–2025
EF0: 322EF0322EF1: 132EF1132EF2: 24EF224EF3: 2EF32EF4: 0EF4EF5: 0EF5
Tornadoes by (E)F rating

Ratings before February 2007 use the original Fujita (F) scale; later tornadoes use the Enhanced Fujita (EF) scale. How the EF scale works.

Strongest tornadoes in California

DateRatingCountyPath lengthWidthDeathsInjuries
February 9, 1978F3Orange County2 mi67 yd06
August 16, 1973F3Riverside County0.1 mi10 yd00
June 1, 1958F2Sonoma County15 mi50 yd00
April 5, 1980F2Kings County15 mi10 yd01
September 5, 2020EF2Madera County12 mi50 yd00
November 7, 1966F2Los Angeles County10.3 mi50 yd010
November 9, 1982F2Los Angeles County10 mi1,300 yd00
January 11, 1951F2Santa Clara County5.7 mi10 yd00
March 1, 1983F2Los Angeles County3.5 mi100 yd030
May 22, 2008EF2Riverside County2.8 mi75 yd01

Most recent tornadoes

DateRatingCountyPath lengthWidthDeathsInjuries
April 1, 2025EF0Stanislaus County0.9 mi70 yd00
March 13, 2025EF0Los Angeles County1 mi80 yd00
February 13, 2025EF0Ventura County0.6 mi20 yd00
January 3, 2025?Tehama County0.8 mi50 yd00
December 14, 2024EF1Santa Cruz County0.3 mi30 yd05
March 1, 2024EF0Madera County0.4 mi10 yd00
February 7, 2024EF1San Luis Obispo County0.7 mi50 yd00
February 7, 2024EF1San Luis Obispo County4.9 mi50 yd00
December 19, 2023EF1Butte County0.4 mi90 yd00
May 4, 2023EF0Los Angeles County0.7 mi15 yd00

Counties with the most tornadoes

CountyTornadoes since 1950Per 1,000 sq mi
Los Angeles County4931258620.7
Fresno County3213908373.9
San Bernardino County324129958.1
Orange County32104514501.9
Riverside County279700374.5
San Diego County2716610451.3
San Joaquin County1935352011.5
Butte County1828478924.9
Merced County1722719298.2
Kern County165094038.1
Sacramento County1642943005.2
Tulare County147516583.7
Stanislaus County1322506684.5
Sonoma County1321377777.8
Tehama County1210539165.8
Madera County1214543752.9
Glenn County1121681887.4
Ventura County811254752.9
Kings County814895758.4
Santa Cruz County846561797.8

About this data

Tornado records come from the NOAA Storm Prediction Center database of confirmed tornadoes, 1950–2025. Tornadoes that crossed state lines are counted in the state where they began. Counts in the early decades are lower partly because many weak tornadoes went unreported before Doppler radar and storm spotter networks.