NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Aptos, 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 Aptos, California since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 12 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 0 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 12
- 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 Aptos
The highest rating among the 12 tornadoes within 25 miles is F1 or EF1, reached 3 times; the most recent, on December 14, 2024, came within 9 miles. Of the 12, one had a path within 5 miles of the city centre, and 6 have come since 2000. December has had the most tornadoes, 6. Of the 705 California cities on this site, 52% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Aptos. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 16 times since 1965, with stones up to 1.75 inches (golf ball size). Aptos has more hail reports within 10 miles than 96% of the 705 California cities.
Compare Aptos's storm record with another city →
Tornadoes within 25 miles of Aptos
By decade
- 2020s1
- 2010s3
- 2000s2
- 1990s3
- 1980s2
- 1960s1
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 14, 2024 | EF1 | 9 mi | 0.31 mi | 0 / 5 |
| Dec 20, 2001 | F1 | 6 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 1, 1965 | F1 | 5 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jan 6, 2019 | EF0 | 7 mi | 0.54 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jan 6, 2019 | EF0 | 8 mi | 0.07 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Dec 22, 2012 | EF0 | 7 mi | 1.07 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 14, 2007 | EF0 | 16 mi | 0.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Dec 5, 1998 | F0 | 7 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Dec 8, 1997 | F0 | 24 mi | 0.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Dec 11, 1992 | F0 | 22 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 3, 1987 | F0 | 21 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Feb 3, 1986 | F0 | in town | 0.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 12, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Aptos
The Storm Prediction Center has 16 hail reports within 10 miles of Aptos since 1965, made on 14 separate days. Of these, 2 were 1 inch across or larger, and none reached 2 inches. The largest, 1.75 inches (golf ball size), fell on April 1, 1965. The most recent report is from March 29, 2023. March has the most reports, 7.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Aptos
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Santa Cruz, CA, 6 miles west of Aptos at 70 feet. August is the warmest, with an average high of 76°F and low of 55°F; December is the coolest, at 62°F and 41°F. January is the wettest at 6.4 inches of precipitation on average and July and August the driest at 0.0 inches; the year adds up to 30.5 inches over 45 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 6 days a year, almost all from September to October. Lows fall below freezing on about 6 nights a year. That 30.5 inches is more than at 182 of the 226 California stations used on this site (81%). Freedom, 7 miles southeast, has its own station (Watsonville Municipal Airport, CA): 22.4 inches a year, 8.1 less than here, and an August average high of 73°F against 76°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 63 | 41 | 6.4 | 8 |
| Feb | 64 | 43 | 6.1 | 8 |
| Mar | 67 | 44 | 4.3 | 7 |
| Apr | 69 | 46 | 2.0 | 4 |
| May | 71 | 49 | 0.9 | 2 |
| Jun | 74 | 52 | 0.2 | 1 |
| Jul | 74 | 54 | 0.0 | 0 |
| Aug | 76 | 55 | 0.0 | 0 |
| Sep | 77 | 53 | 0.1 | 0 |
| Oct | 74 | 50 | 1.3 | 2 |
| Nov | 67 | 44 | 3.2 | 5 |
| Dec | 62 | 41 | 6.0 | 8 |
| Year | 70 | 48 | 30.5 | 45 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Santa Cruz, CA (70 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 Aptos
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 63 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Aptos: 41 floods, 11 heavy rain events, 8 flash floods and 3 thunderstorm wind reports. They killed 6 people and injured 3, and the NWS estimated $34.4 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 91 mph, on December 25, 2025. December has had the most flash floods, 4 of 8. Of the 550 California cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 247 have had fewer than Aptos.
March 16, 2012: heavy rain event 8 miles from the centre of Aptos — 1 killed, 3 injured, $15,000 damage.
December 15, 2008: heavy rain event 10 miles from the centre of Aptos — 1 killed, $15,000 damage.
February 15, 2009: flood in Aptos — 1 killed, $15,000 damage.
NWS: “m. on northbound Highway 1 near Rio Del Mar Boulevard when a car spun out on the wet highway, went over an embankment and struck a tree.”
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 Aptos's ZIP code 95003 have filed 318 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1978, and were paid $5.7 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Flooding in 1983: 135 claims (42% of all) and $1.5 million, then California Atmospheric River in 2023 with 30 and Pineapple Express - Southern in 1998 with 16. 58% 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, 388 have fewer than Aptos.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Flooding1983 | 135 | $1.5 million |
| California Atmospheric River2023 | 30 | $2.9 million |
| Pineapple Express - Southern1998 | 16 | $394,000 |
Santa Cruz County, which includes Aptos, has been named in 34 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1977, 22 of them major disasters (by incident: 9 fires, 9 severe storms, 8 floods, 2 biological emergencies). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Winter Storms, Tornadoes, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides, on April 13, 2024. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Santa Cruz County a Relatively High rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for inland flooding; Relatively Moderate for lightning and heat waves; Relatively Low for coastal flooding; Very Low for tornadoes, hail and strong wind. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $335.4 million a year, the 19th highest of 58 California counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $105.1 million (31%), 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.