NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Coachella, 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 Coachella, California since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 3 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 1 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 3
- EF3 or stronger
- 1
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
no recorded deaths
What the records show for Coachella
The strongest of the 3 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F3 on February 9, 1978; its path came within 23 miles. The most recent tornado was on August 6, 2015. Of the 705 California cities on this site, 87% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Coachella. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 2 times since 1994, with stones up to 1 inch (quarter size). Of the 705 California cities, 57% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Coachella.
Compare Coachella's storm record with another city →
Tornadoes within 25 miles of Coachella
By decade
- 2010s1
- 1980s1
- 1970s1(1 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 9, 1978 | F3 | 23 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 6 |
| Aug 6, 2015 | EF1 | 6 mi | 3.98 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Sep 18, 1985 | F0 | 18 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 3 of 3, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Coachella
The Storm Prediction Center has 2 hail reports within 10 miles of Coachella since 1994. Of these, one was 1 inch across or larger, and none reached 2 inches. The largest, 1 inch (quarter size), fell on October 13, 2018, the most recent report.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Coachella
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Indio Fire Stn, CA, 3 miles northwest of Coachella. July is the warmest, with an average high of 106°F and low of 83°F; December is the coolest, at 69°F and 45°F. January is the wettest at 0.7 inches of precipitation on average and May and June the driest at 0.0 inches; the year adds up to 3.1 inches over 6 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 184 days a year, almost all from March to November. Lows fall below freezing on about 1 nights a year. That 3.1 inches is more than at 4 of the 226 California stations used on this site (2%). Mecca, 14 miles southeast, has its own station (Mecca Fire Stn, CA): 3.1 inches a year, the same as here, and a July average high of 107°F against 106°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 70 | 47 | 0.7 | 2 |
| Feb | 73 | 51 | 0.6 | 1 |
| Mar | 80 | 57 | 0.3 | 1 |
| Apr | 86 | 63 | 0.1 | 0 |
| May | 93 | 69 | 0.0 | 0 |
| Jun | 102 | 77 | 0.0 | 0 |
| Jul | 106 | 83 | 0.1 | 0 |
| Aug | 105 | 83 | 0.3 | 0 |
| Sep | 101 | 77 | 0.1 | 0 |
| Oct | 91 | 66 | 0.2 | 0 |
| Nov | 78 | 53 | 0.2 | 0 |
| Dec | 69 | 45 | 0.5 | 1 |
| Year | 88 | 64 | 3.1 | 6 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Indio Fire Stn, CA, 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 Coachella
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 49 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Coachella: 23 flash floods, 15 thunderstorm wind reports, 8 floods, 2 lightning strikes and 1 heavy rain event. They killed 0 people and injured 1, and the NWS estimated $10.9 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 70 mph, on July 30, 2015. September has had the most flash floods, 11 of 23. Of the 550 California cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 471 have had fewer than Coachella.
September 30, 2018: flash flood 7 miles from the centre of Coachella — 1 injured, $200,000 damage.
NWS: “A thunderstorms produced radar estimated 2 to 4 inches of rain in Box Canyon near I-10 within Box Canyon. The runoff destroyed a dike operated by Coachella Valley Water District.”
July 23, 2019: thunderstorm wind 8 miles from the centre of Coachella — $8.0 million damage.
NWS: “Estimated 8 million in damage reported from thunderstorms microburst. Up to 20 utility poles downed, snapped or damaged in Imperial Irrigation District.”
September 11, 2012: flash flood 10 miles from the centre of Coachella — $2.0 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 Coachella, 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.
Cities near Coachella
- Indio, CA5 mi
- La Quinta, CA7 mi
- Indian Wells, CA10 mi
- Palm Desert, CA11 mi
- Mecca, CA14 mi
- Thousand Palms, CA15 mi
- Rancho Mirage, CA15 mi
- Thermal, CA16 mi
- Cathedral City, CA19 mi
- Palm Springs, CA23 mi
- Desert Hot Springs, CA26 mi
- Anza, CA30 mi
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