NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Big Bear Lake, 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 Lake, California since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 3 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 0 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 3
- 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 Lake
The highest rating among the 3 tornadoes within 25 miles is F1 or EF1, reached 2 times; the most recent, on August 4, 2008, came within 20 miles. Of the 705 California cities on this site, 87% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Big Bear Lake. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 12 times since 1986, with stones up to 1.75 inches (golf ball size). Big Bear Lake has more hail reports within 10 miles than 91% of the 705 California cities.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Big Bear Lake
By decade
- 2000s2
- 1990s1
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 4, 2008 | EF1 | 20 mi | 1.08 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Dec 22, 1996 | F1 | 23 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 14, 2004 | F0 | 21 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 3 of 3, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Big Bear Lake
The Storm Prediction Center has 12 hail reports within 10 miles of Big Bear Lake since 1986. Of these, 4 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 Lake
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Big Bear Lake, CA, in Big Bear Lake 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, 12 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 Lake
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 70 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Big Bear Lake: 30 flash floods, 18 heavy rain events, 9 thunderstorm wind reports, 7 floods 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, 13 of 30. Of the 550 California cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 503 have had fewer than Big Bear Lake.
June 3, 2009: thunderstorm wind 1 mile from the centre of Big Bear Lake — 1 killed, $20,000 damage.
NWS: “A wind gust from a thunderstorm snapped a pine tree along the 400 block of Catalina Road near Avalon Drive in Big Bear Lake. The tree fell on a passing vehicle, crushing the car and killing the driver.”
January 9, 2005: flash flood 4 miles from the centre of Big Bear Lake — $1.0 million damage.
January 11, 2005: flash flood 2 miles from the centre of Big Bear Lake — $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 Lake's ZIP code 92315 have filed 15 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1982, and were paid $303,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. 13% 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, 51 have fewer than Big Bear Lake.
San Bernardino County, which includes Big Bear Lake, 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 Lake
- Big Bear City, CA3 mi
- Sugarloaf, CA4 mi
- Running Springs, CA12 mi
- Mentone, CA16 mi
- Yucaipa, CA16 mi
- Lake Arrowhead, CA16 mi
- Lucerne Valley, CA17 mi
- Highland, CA19 mi
- Calimesa, CA19 mi
- Redlands, CA20 mi
- Beaumont, CA21 mi
- Crestline, CA22 mi
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