NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Bonsall, 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 Bonsall, California since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 15 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 0 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 15
- 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 Bonsall
The highest rating among the 15 tornadoes within 25 miles is F1, reached 5 times; the most recent, on February 19, 2005, came within 13 miles. Of the 15, none had a path within 5 miles of the city centre, and 7 have come since 2000. February has had the most tornadoes, 5. The most recent tornado was on September 22, 2007. Bonsall has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 52% of the 705 California cities on this site. Hail has been reported within 10 miles once, in 1996, with stones of 1 inch (quarter size). Of the 705 California cities, 72% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Bonsall.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Bonsall
By decade
- 2000s7
- 1990s5
- 1970s2
- 1960s1
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 19, 2005 | F1 | 13 mi | 2.8 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jan 29, 1998 | F1 | 18 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 27, 1991 | F1 | 10 mi | 0.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Dec 18, 1978 | F1 | 12 mi | 0.8 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Oct 8, 1961 | F1 | 12 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 3 |
| Sep 22, 2007 | EF0 | 19 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 11, 2006 | F0 | 20 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 10, 2006 | F0 | 18 mi | 0.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Feb 19, 2005 | F0 | 10 mi | 2.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Feb 19, 2005 | F0 | 6 mi | 2.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Oct 17, 2004 | F0 | 12 mi | 0.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Feb 8, 1998 | F0 | 18 mi | 3 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 15, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Bonsall
The Storm Prediction Center has one hail report within 10 miles of Bonsall, from May 24, 1996: 1 inch (quarter size).
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Bonsall
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Vista, CA, 4 miles southwest of Bonsall at 430 feet. August is the warmest, with an average high of 81°F and low of 63°F; December is the coolest, at 65°F and 45°F. February is the wettest at 3.1 inches of precipitation on average and August the driest at 0.0 inches; the year adds up to 13.5 inches over 25 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 19 days a year. Lows fall below freezing on about 1 nights a year. That 13.5 inches is more than at 83 of the 226 California stations used on this site (37%). Fallbrook, 6 miles north, has its own station (Fallbrook 5 NE, CA): 15.3 inches a year, 1.8 more than here, and an August average high of 89°F against 81°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 66 | 46 | 2.9 | 5 |
| Feb | 65 | 46 | 3.1 | 5 |
| Mar | 67 | 48 | 2.1 | 4 |
| Apr | 69 | 50 | 1.0 | 2 |
| May | 71 | 55 | 0.4 | 1 |
| Jun | 75 | 59 | 0.1 | 0 |
| Jul | 79 | 62 | 0.1 | 0 |
| Aug | 81 | 63 | 0.0 | 0 |
| Sep | 81 | 61 | 0.2 | 0 |
| Oct | 76 | 56 | 0.6 | 1 |
| Nov | 71 | 50 | 1.1 | 2 |
| Dec | 65 | 45 | 1.9 | 4 |
| Year | 72 | 53 | 13.5 | 25 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Vista, CA (430 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 Bonsall
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 42 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Bonsall: 15 floods, 11 flash floods, 6 heavy rain events, 6 thunderstorm wind reports and 4 lightning strikes. They killed 1 person and injured 2, and the NWS estimated $424,000 in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 64 mph, on January 6, 2016. January has had the most flash floods, 7 of 11. Of the 550 California cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 304 have had fewer than Bonsall.
January 9, 2017: heavy rain event 8 miles from the centre of Bonsall — 1 killed.
June 3, 2009: lightning strike 8 miles from the centre of Bonsall — 2 injured.
January 9, 2005: flash flood 9 miles from the centre of Bonsall — $100,000 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
San Diego County, which includes Bonsall, has been named in 51 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1965, 27 of them major disasters (by incident: 28 fires, 12 floods, 5 severe storms, 2 biological emergencies). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storm and Flooding, on February 19, 2024. FEMA's National Risk Index gives San Diego County a Very High rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Very High for inland flooding; Relatively High for heat waves; Relatively Moderate for hail, coastal flooding, strong wind and lightning; Relatively Low for tornadoes; Very Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $1.54 billion a year, the 7th highest of 58 California counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $647.6 million (42%), 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 Bonsall
- Fallbrook, CA6 mi
- Vista, CA7 mi
- Oceanside, CA9 mi
- San Marcos, CA11 mi
- Valley Center, CA11 mi
- Escondido, CA13 mi
- Carlsbad, CA13 mi
- Temecula, CA16 mi
- Encinitas, CA17 mi
- Cardiff, CA19 mi
- Rancho Santa Fe, CA19 mi
- Murrieta, CA19 mi
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