NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Apple Valley, CA
Every tropical system within 75 miles since 1851 and every tornado within 25 miles since 1950.
Data: NOAA NHC HURDAT2 and NOAA SPC tornado and hail reports, through 2025 · Updated
No tropical storm or hurricane has passed within 75 miles of Apple Valley, California since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 13 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 0 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 13
- EF3 or stronger
- 0
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
no recorded deaths
What the records show for Apple Valley
The strongest of the 13 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F2 on June 25, 1954; its path came within 10 miles. Of the 13, one had a path within 5 miles of the city centre, and 3 have come since 2000. May has had the most tornadoes, 4. The most recent tornado was on May 7, 2017. Of the 705 California cities on this site, 50% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Apple Valley. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 3 times since 1990, with stones up to 1.5 inches (ping pong ball size). Of the 705 California cities, 44% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Apple Valley.
Compare Apple Valley's storm record with another city →
Tornadoes within 25 miles of Apple Valley
By decade
- 2010s2
- 2000s1
- 1990s5
- 1980s1
- 1970s2
- 1960s1
- 1950s1
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 25, 1954 | F2 | 10 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 18, 1997 | F1 | 7 mi | 9 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 18, 1997 | F1 | 7 mi | 3.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 11, 1997 | F1 | 2 mi | 0.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 7, 2017 | EF0 | 14 mi | 0.01 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 18, 2013 | EF0 | 20 mi | 1.02 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 14, 2004 | F0 | 23 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 6, 1997 | F0 | 8 mi | 0.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 20, 1991 | F0 | 24 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 21, 1986 | F0 | 18 mi | 0.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 6, 1976 | F0 | 23 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 5, 1976 | F0 | 22 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 13, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Apple Valley
The Storm Prediction Center has 3 hail reports within 10 miles of Apple Valley since 1990. Of these, one was 1 inch across or larger, and none reached 2 inches. The largest, 1.5 inches (ping pong ball size), fell on August 10, 1990. The most recent report is from May 11, 2019.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Apple Valley
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Victorville, CA, 7 miles northwest of Apple Valley at 2,880 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 98°F and low of 64°F; December is the coolest, at 57°F and 33°F. February is the wettest at 1.3 inches of precipitation on average and June the driest at 0.0 inches; the year adds up to 5.6 inches over 13 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 119 days a year, almost all from April to October. Lows fall below freezing on about 54 nights a year. That 5.6 inches is more than at 17 of the 226 California stations used on this site (8%). Lucerne Valley, 16 miles east, has its own station (Big Bear Lake, CA): 20.1 inches a year, 14.5 more than here, and a July average high of 80°F against 98°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 58 | 33 | 1.0 | 2 |
| Feb | 61 | 36 | 1.3 | 3 |
| Mar | 67 | 40 | 0.8 | 2 |
| Apr | 73 | 44 | 0.3 | 1 |
| May | 81 | 51 | 0.1 | 0 |
| Jun | 91 | 58 | 0.0 | 0 |
| Jul | 98 | 64 | 0.2 | 1 |
| Aug | 97 | 63 | 0.1 | 0 |
| Sep | 91 | 58 | 0.2 | 0 |
| Oct | 79 | 47 | 0.3 | 1 |
| Nov | 67 | 38 | 0.4 | 1 |
| Dec | 57 | 33 | 0.9 | 2 |
| Year | 77 | 47 | 5.6 | 13 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Victorville, CA (2,880 ft), from NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals. Normals describe the station; the farther a place is from it, and the bigger the difference in height, the more its weather can differ.
Floods, thunderstorm wind and lightning near Apple Valley
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 38 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Apple Valley: 12 floods, 11 flash floods, 8 thunderstorm wind reports, 4 heavy rain events and 3 lightning strikes. They killed 1 person and injured 3, and the NWS estimated $207,000 in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 81 mph, on May 11, 1997. August has had the most flash floods, 3 of 11. Of the 550 California cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 304 have had fewer than Apple Valley.
February 17, 2017: flash flood 7 miles from the centre of Apple Valley — 1 killed, 2 injured, $30,000 damage.
May 18, 1997: thunderstorm wind 7 miles from the centre of Apple Valley — 1 injured.
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, events whose starting point is on record, 1996 to June 30, 2026. Damage is the NWS estimate in the dollars of the year, not insured losses, and NWS notes that some reports are unverified.
Flood insurance claims, disaster declarations and FEMA risk ratings
Flood insurance policyholders in Apple Valley's 2 ZIP codes have filed 47 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1980, and were paid $767,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The year with the most claims was 2010, with 10. 34% of the claims carry the name of a storm or flood event; the rest have no event name. Of the 415 California cities on this site with 10 or more claims, 227 have fewer than Apple Valley.
San Bernardino County, which includes Apple Valley, has been named in 61 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1965, 30 of them major disasters (by incident: 33 fires, 13 floods, 7 severe storms, 2 biological emergencies). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Winter Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides, on April 3, 2023. FEMA's National Risk Index gives San Bernardino County a Very High rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Very High for inland flooding; Relatively High for strong wind, lightning and heat waves; Relatively Moderate for tornadoes and hail. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $2.08 billion a year, the 3rd highest of 58 California counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $959.6 million (46%), is from inland flooding.
Claims: FEMA, OpenFEMA Dataset FIMA NFIP Redacted Claims – v3, summed over ZIP codes; payments in the dollars of each year, not adjusted for inflation. Declarations: Disaster Declarations Summaries – v2, by county. Retrieved October 25, 2026. This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's OpenFEMA API, but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).
Risk ratings: FEMA, National Risk Index county table, December 2025 (v1.20), retrieved October 26, 2026; ratings compare counties nationwide, are meant for planning and are no substitute for a local risk assessment. This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's National Risk Index dataset API or downloadable datasets but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).
What counts as a pass, the distances and the sources: how this storm history is built.
Cities near Apple Valley
- Victorville, CA10 mi
- Hesperia, CA11 mi
- Oak Hills, CA14 mi
- Lucerne Valley, CA16 mi
- Lake Arrowhead, CA16 mi
- Crestline, CA18 mi
- Phelan, CA20 mi
- Running Springs, CA20 mi
- Helendale, CA20 mi
- Adelanto, CA21 mi
- Big Bear Lake, CA24 mi
- San Bernardino, CA25 mi
All California cities →All hurricanes since 1851 →Compare Apple Valley with another place →