NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Chico, 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 Chico, California since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 28 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 0 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 28
- 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 Chico
The highest rating among the 28 tornadoes within 25 miles is F2 or EF2, reached 4 times; the most recent, on May 25, 2011, came within 16 miles. Of the 28, 4 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 15 have come since 2000. March has had the most tornadoes, 9. The most recent tornado was on December 19, 2023. Chico has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 79% of the 705 California cities on this site. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 7 times since 1986, with stones up to 1 inch (quarter size). Chico has more hail reports within 10 miles than 76% of the 705 California cities.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Chico
By decade
- 2020s4
- 2010s8
- 2000s3
- 1990s7
- 1980s2
- 1970s3
- 1950s1
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 25, 2011 | EF2 | 16 mi | 0.21 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Feb 10, 1994 | F2 | 22 mi | 0.3 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Sep 24, 1986 | F2 | 16 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 1 |
| May 19, 1953 | F2 | 18 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Dec 19, 2023 | EF1 | 4 mi | 0.36 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 26, 2014 | EF1 | 20 mi | 0.58 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 26, 2014 | EF1 | 17 mi | 0.95 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 26, 2014 | EF1 | 17 mi | 0.7 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 25, 2011 | EF1 | 9 mi | 26.37 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 25, 2011 | EF1 | 4 mi | 21.65 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 17, 1993 | F1 | 22 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jan 7, 1993 | F1 | 24 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 28, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Chico
The Storm Prediction Center has 7 hail reports within 10 miles of Chico since 1986, made on 5 separate days. Of these, 4 were 1 inch across or larger, and none reached 2 inches. The largest size, 1 inch (quarter size), was reported on 3 days, most recently March 6, 2023. The most recent report is from March 6, 2023.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Chico
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Paradise, CA, 12 miles east of Chico at 1,750 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 91°F and low of 67°F; December is the coolest, at 54°F and 40°F. December is the wettest at 11.2 inches of precipitation on average and July the driest at 0.0 inches; the year adds up to 56.5 inches over 60 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 65 days a year, almost all from May to October. Lows fall below freezing on about 7 nights a year. That 56.5 inches is more than at 220 of the 226 California stations used on this site (97%). Hamilton City, 9 miles west, has its own station (Orland, CA): 21.3 inches a year, 35.2 less than here, and a July average high of 94°F against 91°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 54 | 41 | 10.2 | 10 |
| Feb | 56 | 42 | 10.1 | 9 |
| Mar | 61 | 45 | 8.3 | 9 |
| Apr | 66 | 48 | 4.6 | 6 |
| May | 75 | 54 | 2.4 | 4 |
| Jun | 84 | 61 | 0.8 | 2 |
| Jul | 91 | 67 | 0.0 | 0 |
| Aug | 90 | 66 | 0.2 | 0 |
| Sep | 86 | 62 | 0.4 | 1 |
| Oct | 74 | 54 | 2.8 | 3 |
| Nov | 61 | 45 | 5.5 | 7 |
| Dec | 54 | 40 | 11.2 | 10 |
| Year | 71 | 52 | 56.5 | 60 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Paradise, CA (1,750 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 Chico
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 56 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Chico: 44 floods, 4 thunderstorm wind reports, 3 flash floods, 3 heavy rain events and 2 lightning strikes. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $2.1 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 63 mph, on January 14, 2023.
November 2, 2015: thunderstorm wind 2 miles from the centre of Chico — $1.0 million damage.
NWS: “A collapsing thunderstorm resulted in a downburst which brought strong straight line winds which snapped 6 power poles along east Eaton Rd. and Godman Ave in Chico.”
February 9, 2014: flash flood 4 miles from the centre of Chico — $700,000 damage.
NWS: “A heavy band of rain moved through Chico approximately 10pm on Sunday, Feb. 9th, through past midnight.”
February 14, 2019: flood 7 miles from the centre of Chico — $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
Flood insurance policyholders in Chico's 3 ZIP codes have filed 206 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1986, and were paid $4.3 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Flooding in 1997: 78 claims (38% of all) and $1.2 million, then Pineapple Express - Southern in 1998 with 41. The year with the most claims was 1998, with 42. 58% 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, 369 have fewer than Chico.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Flooding1997 | 78 | $1.2 million |
| Pineapple Express - Southern1998 | 41 | $526,000 |
Butte County, which includes Chico, has been named in 39 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1964, 20 of them major disasters (by incident: 17 fires, 9 severe storms, 6 floods, 2 biological emergencies). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Winter Storms, Tornadoes, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides, on April 13, 2024. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Butte County a Relatively Moderate rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for inland flooding, lightning and heat waves; Relatively Low for tornadoes and hail; Very Low for strong wind. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $127.2 million a year, the 33rd highest of 58 California counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $48.2 million (38%), 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 Chico
- Hamilton City, CA9 mi
- Durham, CA9 mi
- Paradise, CA13 mi
- Magalia, CA16 mi
- Orland, CA20 mi
- Corning, CA23 mi
- Oroville, CA23 mi
- Los Molinos, CA24 mi
- Forest Ranch, CA24 mi
- Biggs, CA25 mi
- Gerber, CA26 mi
- Willows, CA26 mi
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