NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Canyon 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 Canyon Lake, California since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 22 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 0 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 22
- 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 Canyon Lake
The strongest of the 22 tornadoes within 25 miles was an EF2 on May 22, 2008; its path came within 12 miles. Of the 22, 2 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 15 have come since 2000. May has had the most tornadoes, 5. The most recent tornado was on October 8, 2022. Canyon Lake has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 70% of the 705 California cities on this site. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 6 times since 1960, with stones up to 2.75 inches (baseball size). Canyon Lake has more hail reports within 10 miles than 69% of the 705 California cities.
Compare Canyon Lake's storm record with another city →
Tornadoes within 25 miles of Canyon Lake
By decade
- 2020s1
- 2010s3
- 2000s11
- 1990s3
- 1980s2
- 1970s1
- 1950s1
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 22, 2008 | EF2 | 12 mi | 2.8 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Feb 19, 2005 | F1 | 15 mi | 2.8 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 20, 1974 | F1 | 18 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Oct 8, 2022 | EF0 | 2 mi | 1.56 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Oct 17, 2015 | EF0 | 7 mi | 0.04 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 9, 2012 | EF0 | 6 mi | 0.01 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 12, 2012 | EF0 | 6 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 22, 2008 | EF0 | 9 mi | 0.36 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 22, 2008 | EF0 | 12 mi | 0.96 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 22, 2008 | EF0 | 10 mi | 0.89 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 23, 2006 | F0 | 6 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 23, 2005 | F0 | 15 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 22, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Canyon Lake
The Storm Prediction Center has 6 hail reports within 10 miles of Canyon Lake since 1960, made on 4 separate days. Of these, 4 were 1 inch across or larger, and one reached 2 inches. The largest, 2.75 inches (baseball size), fell on September 2, 1960. The most recent report is from September 8, 2024.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Canyon Lake
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Elsinore, CA, 6 miles west of Canyon Lake at 1,268 feet. August is the warmest, with an average high of 98°F and low of 65°F; December is the coolest, at 65°F and 40°F. January is the wettest at 3.0 inches of precipitation on average and June and August the driest at 0.1 inches; the year adds up to 11.8 inches over 22 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 123 days a year, almost all from April to November. Lows fall below freezing on about 9 nights a year. That 11.8 inches is more than at 58 of the 226 California stations used on this site (26%). Homeland, 9 miles northeast, has its own station (San Jacinto, CA): 12.4 inches a year, 0.6 more than here, and an August average high of 97°F against 98°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 66 | 42 | 3.0 | 4 |
| Feb | 67 | 43 | 2.9 | 5 |
| Mar | 72 | 46 | 1.5 | 3 |
| Apr | 77 | 49 | 0.5 | 2 |
| May | 82 | 54 | 0.2 | 1 |
| Jun | 90 | 58 | 0.1 | 0 |
| Jul | 97 | 64 | 0.2 | 0 |
| Aug | 98 | 65 | 0.1 | 0 |
| Sep | 93 | 61 | 0.2 | 0 |
| Oct | 83 | 54 | 0.5 | 1 |
| Nov | 73 | 46 | 0.6 | 2 |
| Dec | 65 | 40 | 2.0 | 4 |
| Year | 80 | 52 | 11.8 | 22 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Elsinore, CA (1,268 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 Canyon Lake
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 61 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Canyon Lake: 28 thunderstorm wind reports, 14 flash floods, 11 floods, 7 heavy rain events and 1 lightning strike. They killed 1 person and injured 10, and the NWS estimated $2.1 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 87 mph, on August 11, 2012. January has had the most flash floods, 6 of 14. Of the 550 California cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 363 have had fewer than Canyon Lake.
December 22, 2010: flash flood 2 miles from the centre of Canyon Lake — 1 killed.
NWS: “A 39 year old Menifee woman was driving south on Goetz Road when the car was swept off the road by swift runoff from the Salt Creek, where it flows into Canyon Lake. She was found dead in her car at the bottom of the lake several hours later.”
January 20, 2017: flood 5 miles from the centre of Canyon Lake — 10 injured.
January 29, 2021: flood 7 miles from the centre of Canyon Lake — $1.0 million 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
Riverside County, which includes Canyon Lake, has been named in 66 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1965, 31 of them major disasters (by incident: 38 fires, 13 floods, 7 severe storms, 2 biological emergencies). The latest major disaster declaration was Tropical Storm Hilary, on November 21, 2023. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Riverside 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 tornadoes, hail, strong wind and lightning; Very Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $2.27 billion a year, the 2nd highest of 58 California counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $1.13 billion (50%), 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.