NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Big Bear City, 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 Big Bear City, California since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 4 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 0 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 4
- 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 Big Bear City
The highest rating among the 4 tornadoes within 25 miles is F1 or EF1, reached 2 times; the most recent, on August 4, 2008, came within 17 miles. Of the 705 California cities on this site, 83% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Big Bear City. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 12 times since 1986, with stones up to 1.75 inches (golf ball size). Big Bear City has more hail reports within 10 miles than 91% of the 705 California cities.
Compare Big Bear City's storm record with another city →
Tornadoes within 25 miles of Big Bear City
By decade
- 2000s2
- 1990s1
- 1980s1
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 4, 2008 | EF1 | 17 mi | 1.08 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Dec 22, 1996 | F1 | 24 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 14, 2004 | F0 | 18 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 1, 1983 | F0 | 23 mi | 0.3 mi | 0 / 1 |
The strongest 4 of 4, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Big Bear City
The Storm Prediction Center has 12 hail reports within 10 miles of Big Bear City since 1986. Of these, 3 were 1 inch across or larger, and none reached 2 inches. The largest, 1.75 inches (golf ball size), fell on August 16, 2000. The most recent report is from June 22, 2022. August has the most reports, 5.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Big Bear City
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Big Bear Lake, CA, 4 miles west of Big Bear City at 6,753 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 80°F and low of 51°F; February is the coolest, at 46°F and 24°F. January is the wettest at 4.5 inches of precipitation on average and June the driest at 0.2 inches; the year adds up to 20.1 inches over 30 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 1 days a year, almost all from July. Lows fall below freezing on about 176 nights a year. Snowfall averages 58.6 inches a year, most of it in February. That 20.1 inches is more than at 141 of the 226 California stations used on this site (62%). Running Springs, 15 miles west, has its own station (Lake Arrowhead, CA): 38.0 inches a year, 17.9 more than here, and a July average high of 81°F against 80°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 46 | 24 | 4.5 | 5 | 13.4 |
| Feb | 46 | 24 | 4.4 | 5 | 14.3 |
| Mar | 51 | 27 | 2.4 | 4 | 11.7 |
| Apr | 57 | 31 | 0.8 | 2 | 3.0 |
| May | 66 | 37 | 0.4 | 1 | 0.6 |
| Jun | 75 | 44 | 0.2 | 0 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 80 | 51 | 0.7 | 2 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 79 | 50 | 0.8 | 2 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 73 | 44 | 0.4 | 1 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 63 | 35 | 0.8 | 1 | 1.2 |
| Nov | 54 | 28 | 1.4 | 2 | 3.4 |
| Dec | 46 | 24 | 3.3 | 4 | 11.0 |
| Year | 61 | 35 | 20.1 | 30 | 58.6 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Big Bear Lake, CA (6,753 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 Big Bear City
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 66 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Big Bear City: 27 flash floods, 18 heavy rain events, 8 floods, 7 thunderstorm wind reports and 6 lightning strikes. They killed 1 person and injured 0, and the NWS estimated $2.0 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 64 mph, on December 29, 2004. July has had the most flash floods, 11 of 27. Of the 550 California cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 492 have had fewer than Big Bear City.
June 3, 2009: thunderstorm wind 2 miles from the centre of Big Bear City — 1 killed, $20,000 damage.
January 9, 2005: flash flood in Big Bear City — $1.0 million damage.
January 11, 2005: flash flood 2 miles from the centre of Big Bear City — $500,000 damage.
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 Big Bear City's ZIP code 92314 have filed 41 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1980, and were paid $426,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The year with the most claims was 2005, with 11. 10% 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, 212 have fewer than Big Bear City.
San Bernardino County, which includes Big Bear City, 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 Big Bear City
- Sugarloaf, CA2 mi
- Big Bear Lake, CA3 mi
- Running Springs, CA15 mi
- Lucerne Valley, CA16 mi
- Mentone, CA18 mi
- Yucaipa, CA19 mi
- Lake Arrowhead, CA19 mi
- Morongo Valley, CA21 mi
- Calimesa, CA21 mi
- Highland, CA22 mi
- Beaumont, CA23 mi
- Redlands, CA23 mi
All California cities →All hurricanes since 1851 →Compare Big Bear City with another place →