NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Desert Hot Springs, 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 Desert Hot Springs, California since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 6 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 0 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 6
- 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 Desert Hot Springs
The strongest of the 6 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F2 on September 7, 1982; its path came within 21 miles. Of the 6, none had a path within 5 miles of the city centre, and 2 have come since 2000. The most recent tornado was on August 14, 2004. Of the 705 California cities on this site, 75% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Desert Hot Springs. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 2 times since 1989, with stones up to 1.5 inches (ping pong ball size). Of the 705 California cities, 57% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Desert Hot Springs.
Compare Desert Hot Springs's storm record with another city →
Tornadoes within 25 miles of Desert Hot Springs
By decade
- 2000s2
- 1990s1
- 1980s2
- 1970s1
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 7, 1982 | F2 | 21 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Dec 22, 1996 | F1 | 17 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Oct 22, 1974 | F1 | 18 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 14, 2004 | F0 | 25 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 7, 2001 | F0 | 16 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 1, 1983 | F0 | 23 mi | 0.3 mi | 0 / 1 |
The strongest 6 of 6, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Desert Hot Springs
The Storm Prediction Center has 2 hail reports within 10 miles of Desert Hot Springs since 1989. Of these, one was 1 inch across or larger, and none reached 2 inches. The largest, 1.5 inches (ping pong ball size), fell on September 5, 1991, the most recent report.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Radar-estimated hail days in Desert Hot Springs since 2019 →
Weather by month in Desert Hot Springs
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Palm Springs Regional Airport, CA, 8 miles south of Desert Hot Springs at 421 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 109°F and low of 79°F; December is the coolest, at 69°F and 46°F. January and February are the wettest at 1.1 inches of precipitation on average and May and June the driest at 0.0 inches; the year adds up to 4.5 inches over 8 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 177 days a year, almost all from March to November. A night below freezing comes less than once a year on average. That 4.5 inches is more than at 11 of the 226 California stations used on this site (5%). Palm Springs, 9 miles south, has its own station (Palm Springs, CA): 5.2 inches a year, 0.7 more than here, and a July average high of 108°F against 109°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 71 | 48 | 1.1 | 2 |
| Feb | 74 | 50 | 1.1 | 2 |
| Mar | 81 | 54 | 0.5 | 1 |
| Apr | 87 | 59 | 0.1 | 0 |
| May | 95 | 66 | 0.0 | 0 |
| Jun | 104 | 73 | 0.0 | 0 |
| Jul | 109 | 79 | 0.3 | 1 |
| Aug | 108 | 80 | 0.1 | 0 |
| Sep | 102 | 74 | 0.2 | 0 |
| Oct | 91 | 65 | 0.2 | 0 |
| Nov | 79 | 53 | 0.2 | 1 |
| Dec | 69 | 46 | 0.7 | 1 |
| Year | 89 | 62 | 4.5 | 8 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Palm Springs Regional Airport, CA (421 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 Desert Hot Springs
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 57 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Desert Hot Springs: 25 flash floods, 15 floods, 7 thunderstorm wind reports, 6 lightning strikes and 4 heavy rain events. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $3.5 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 79 mph, on March 11, 2016. August has had the most flash floods, 9 of 25. Of the 550 California cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 484 have had fewer than Desert Hot Springs.
February 14, 2019: flash flood 9 miles from the centre of Desert Hot Springs — $3.0 million damage.
August 3, 2017: flash flood 9 miles from the centre of Desert Hot Springs — $125,000 damage.
December 13, 2009: flash flood 6 miles from the centre of Desert Hot Springs — $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 Desert Hot Springs's 2 ZIP codes have filed 46 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1978, and were paid $135,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. 15% 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, 226 have fewer than Desert Hot Springs.
Riverside County, which includes Desert Hot Springs, 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 Desert Hot Springs
- Palm Springs, CA9 mi
- Morongo Valley, CA9 mi
- Cathedral City, CA9 mi
- Thousand Palms, CA10 mi
- Rancho Mirage, CA13 mi
- Yucca Valley, CA16 mi
- Palm Desert, CA16 mi
- Cabazon, CA16 mi
- Indian Wells, CA19 mi
- Idyllwild, CA19 mi
- Joshua Tree, CA20 mi
- Indio, CA21 mi
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