NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Camp Pendleton, 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 Camp Pendleton, California since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 9 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 0 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 9
- 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 Camp Pendleton
The highest rating among the 9 tornadoes within 25 miles is F1, reached 3 times; the most recent, on November 10, 2000, came within 10 miles. Of the 9, none had a path within 5 miles of the city centre, and 2 have come since 2000. The most recent tornado was on March 11, 2006. Of the 705 California cities on this site, 63% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Camp Pendleton. Hail has been reported within 10 miles once, in 1992, with stones of 0.75 inches (penny size). Of the 705 California cities, 72% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Camp Pendleton.
Compare Camp Pendleton's storm record with another city →
Tornadoes within 25 miles of Camp Pendleton
By decade
- 2000s2
- 1990s5
- 1980s1
- 1970s1
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 10, 2000 | F1 | 10 mi | 0.4 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 27, 1991 | F1 | 21 mi | 0.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 19, 1991 | F1 | 24 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 11, 2006 | F0 | 6 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 12, 1999 | F0 | 22 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Feb 8, 1998 | F0 | 21 mi | 3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jan 14, 1990 | F0 | 24 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Feb 4, 1985 | F0 | 21 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jan 18, 1979 | F0 | 21 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 9 of 9, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Camp Pendleton
The Storm Prediction Center has one hail report within 10 miles of Camp Pendleton, from August 13, 1992: 0.75 inches (penny size).
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Camp Pendleton
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Ramona Fire Dept, CA, 4 miles west of Camp Pendleton at 1,470 feet. August is the warmest, with an average high of 92°F and low of 59°F; December is the coolest, at 67°F and 37°F. Highs reach 90°F on about 75 days a year, almost all from April to October. Lows fall below freezing on about 28 nights a year. That 14.5 inches is more than at 99 of the 226 California stations used on this site (44%). Lakeside, 10 miles south, has its own station (El Cajon, CA): 11.6 inches a year, 2.9 less than here, and an August average high of 89°F against 92°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 68 | 38 | 3.1 | 5 |
| Feb | 68 | 39 | 3.5 | 5 |
| Mar | 69 | 41 | 2.7 | 4 |
| Apr | 73 | 43 | 1.1 | 3 |
| May | 77 | 49 | 0.4 | 1 |
| Jun | 85 | 52 | 0.1 | 0 |
| Jul | 90 | 57 | 0.1 | 0 |
| Aug | 92 | 59 | 0.1 | 0 |
| Sep | 90 | 55 | 0.2 | 0 |
| Oct | 82 | 49 | 0.5 | 1 |
| Nov | 74 | 43 | 1.2 | 2 |
| Dec | 67 | 37 | 1.5 | 4 |
| Year | 78 | 47 | 14.5 | 25 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Ramona Fire Dept, CA (1,470 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 Camp Pendleton
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 32 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Camp Pendleton: 13 flash floods, 6 floods, 6 heavy rain events, 5 thunderstorm wind reports and 2 lightning strikes. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $585,000 in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 64 mph, on September 2, 2007. January has had the most flash floods, 5 of 13. Of the 550 California cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 341 have had fewer than Camp Pendleton.
January 27, 2008: flash flood 6 miles from the centre of Camp Pendleton — $150,000 damage.
February 13, 2019: flood 4 miles from the centre of Camp Pendleton — $100,000 damage.
NWS: “Flooding occurred in Ramona with up to 2 feet of standing water. Severe damage to portions of highway 78 and 79 along the shoulder of the road.”
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 Camp Pendleton, 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.