NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Chowchilla, 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 Chowchilla, 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 Chowchilla
The highest rating among the 22 tornadoes within 25 miles is F1, reached 6 times; the most recent, on December 16, 2002, came within 21 miles. Of the 22, 3 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 10 have come since 2000. March has had the most tornadoes, 10. The most recent tornado was on March 1, 2024. Chowchilla has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 70% of the 705 California cities on this site. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 8 times since 1996, with stones up to 1 inch (quarter size). Chowchilla has more hail reports within 10 miles than 82% of the 705 California cities.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Chowchilla
By decade
- 2020s1
- 2010s1
- 2000s8
- 1990s8
- 1980s1
- 1960s1
- 1950s2
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 16, 2002 | F1 | 21 mi | 1.3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 20, 2002 | F1 | 15 mi | 2.7 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Feb 14, 1998 | F1 | 19 mi | 3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Nov 22, 1996 | F1 | 18 mi | 0.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jan 14, 1995 | F1 | 1 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 21, 1967 | F1 | 15 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 1, 2024 | EF0 | 13 mi | 0.42 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 2, 2019 | EF0 | 24 mi | 0.17 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Feb 9, 2009 | EF0 | 19 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 28, 2006 | F0 | 21 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 28, 2006 | F0 | 16 mi | 0.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 28, 2006 | F0 | 25 mi | 0.2 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 Chowchilla
The Storm Prediction Center has 8 hail reports within 10 miles of Chowchilla since 1996, made on 4 separate days. Of these, 3 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 April 7, 2015. The most recent report is from April 7, 2015.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Chowchilla
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Madera Municipal Airport, CA, 12 miles southeast of Chowchilla at 253 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 98°F and low of 63°F; December is the coolest, at 56°F and 38°F. Highs reach 90°F on about 109 days a year, almost all from April to October. Lows fall below freezing on about 25 nights a year. That 10.8 inches is more than at 47 of the 226 California stations used on this site (21%). Le Grand, 10 miles north, has its own station (Merced Municipal Airport, CA): 11.8 inches a year, 1.0 more than here, and a July average high of 96°F against 98°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 57 | 39 | 2.1 | 4 |
| Feb | 63 | 41 | 2.0 | 5 |
| Mar | 69 | 44 | 2.0 | 4 |
| Apr | 75 | 46 | 0.9 | 2 |
| May | 84 | 52 | 0.5 | 1 |
| Jun | 92 | 58 | 0.2 | 0 |
| Jul | 98 | 63 | 0.0 | 0 |
| Aug | 97 | 61 | 0.0 | 0 |
| Sep | 92 | 58 | 0.0 | 0 |
| Oct | 80 | 50 | 0.4 | 1 |
| Nov | 66 | 42 | 0.9 | 2 |
| Dec | 56 | 38 | 1.8 | 5 |
| Year | 77 | 49 | 10.8 | 25 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Madera Municipal Airport, CA (253 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 Chowchilla
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 21 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Chowchilla: 16 floods, 3 thunderstorm wind reports and 2 heavy rain events. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $8.6 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 58 mph, on March 24, 1998.
April 5, 2006: flood 4 miles from the centre of Chowchilla — $8.6 million damage.
NWS: “The Berenda Slough had its banks fail between 1130 and 1230 PST on the 4th resulting in widespread water over farmland in Madera County southwest of Chowchilla.”
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
Madera County, which includes Chowchilla, has been named in 25 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1969, 14 of them major disasters (by incident: 7 fires, 6 floods, 5 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 Madera County a Relatively High rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for inland flooding and heat waves; Relatively Moderate for hail and lightning; Relatively Low for strong wind; Very Low for tornadoes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $161.6 million a year, the 29th highest of 58 California counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $44.7 million (28%), 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 Chowchilla
- Le Grand, CA10 mi
- Planada, CA14 mi
- Madera, CA17 mi
- Merced, CA19 mi
- Dos Palos, CA21 mi
- Atwater, CA25 mi
- Firebaugh, CA27 mi
- Winton, CA28 mi
- Kerman, CA28 mi
- Mendota, CA29 mi
- Livingston, CA31 mi
- Coarsegold, CA32 mi
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