NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Colfax, 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 Colfax, California since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 2 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 0 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 2
- 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 Colfax
The strongest of the 2 tornadoes within 25 miles was an EF1 on October 22, 2012; its path came within 6 miles. Of the 705 California cities on this site, 91% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Colfax. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 3 times since 1972, with stones up to 1 inch (quarter size). Of the 705 California cities, 44% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Colfax.
Compare Colfax's storm record with another city →
Tornadoes within 25 miles of Colfax
By decade
- 2010s1
- 1990s1
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 22, 2012 | EF1 | 6 mi | 4.02 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 23, 1990 | F0 | 21 mi | 0.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 2 of 2, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Colfax
The Storm Prediction Center has 3 hail reports within 10 miles of Colfax since 1972. Of these, 2 were 1 inch across or larger, and none reached 2 inches. The largest size, 1 inch (quarter size), was reported on 2 days, most recently February 19, 2024. The most recent report is from February 19, 2024.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Colfax
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Colfax, CA, in Colfax at 2,380 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 92°F and low of 63°F; December is the coolest, at 54°F and 36°F. December is the wettest at 8.5 inches of precipitation on average and July the driest at 0.0 inches; the year adds up to 45.9 inches over 57 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 66 days a year, almost all from May to October. Lows fall below freezing on about 38 nights a year. Snowfall averages 7.2 inches a year, most of it in February. That 45.9 inches is more than at 211 of the 226 California stations used on this site (93%). Grass Valley, 8 miles northwest, has its own station (Grass Valley #2, CA): 53.2 inches a year, 7.3 more than here, and a July average high of 88°F against 92°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 55 | 37 | 7.8 | 9 | 0.9 |
| Feb | 57 | 37 | 8.0 | 9 | 2.6 |
| Mar | 60 | 40 | 7.2 | 9 | 1.2 |
| Apr | 66 | 43 | 3.6 | 6 | 0.6 |
| May | 74 | 49 | 2.3 | 4 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 83 | 56 | 0.7 | 1 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 92 | 63 | 0.0 | 0 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 91 | 61 | 0.1 | 0 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 86 | 57 | 0.4 | 1 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 75 | 49 | 2.1 | 3 | 0.0 |
| Nov | 61 | 41 | 5.2 | 7 | 0.4 |
| Dec | 54 | 36 | 8.5 | 9 | 1.5 |
| Year | 71 | 47 | 45.9 | 57 | 7.2 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Colfax, CA (2,380 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 Colfax
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 10 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Colfax: 5 floods, 4 flash floods and 1 heavy rain event. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $101,000 in property and crop damage.
March 21, 2018: flood 9 miles from the centre of Colfax — $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
Placer County, which includes Colfax, has been named in 26 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1964, 13 of them major disasters (by incident: 9 fires, 6 floods, 6 severe storms, 2 biological emergencies). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Winter Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides, on January 14, 2023. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Placer County a Relatively Moderate rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for inland flooding and lightning; Relatively Low for strong wind and heat waves; Very Low for tornadoes and hail. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $162.6 million a year, the 28th highest of 58 California counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $107.3 million (66%), 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 Colfax
- Foresthill, CA7 mi
- Applegate, CA7 mi
- Meadow Vista, CA8 mi
- Grass Valley, CA8 mi
- Auburn, CA13 mi
- Georgetown, CA14 mi
- Nevada City, CA14 mi
- Cool, CA15 mi
- Penn Valley, CA16 mi
- Garden Valley, CA18 mi
- Newcastle, CA19 mi
- Penryn, CA21 mi
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