NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Hanford, 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 Hanford, California since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 25 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 0 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 25
- 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 Hanford
The strongest of the 25 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F2 on April 5, 1980; its path came within 2 miles. Of the 25, 3 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 9 have come since 2000. March has had the most tornadoes, 8. The most recent tornado was on May 19, 2019. Hanford has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 75% of the 705 California cities on this site. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 12 times since 1964, with stones up to 1.25 inches (half dollar size). Hanford has more hail reports within 10 miles than 91% of the 705 California cities.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Hanford
By decade
- 2010s4
- 2000s5
- 1990s9
- 1980s5
- 1970s2
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 5, 1980 | F2 | 2 mi | 15 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Nov 22, 1996 | F1 | 16 mi | 0.8 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Feb 28, 1991 | F1 | 11 mi | 0.2 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Mar 8, 1986 | F1 | 15 mi | 4 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 28, 1982 | F1 | 14 mi | 5 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Mar 14, 1979 | F1 | 19 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 19, 2019 | EF0 | 21 mi | 0.35 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 22, 2018 | EF0 | 25 mi | 1.19 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Feb 12, 2018 | EF0 | 25 mi | 0.3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Nov 9, 2012 | EF0 | 25 mi | 0.27 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jan 27, 2008 | EF0 | 16 mi | 2.03 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 9, 2005 | F0 | 21 mi | — | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 25, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Hanford
The Storm Prediction Center has 12 hail reports within 10 miles of Hanford since 1964, made on 8 separate days. Of these, 5 were 1 inch across or larger, and none reached 2 inches. The largest, 1.25 inches (half dollar size), fell on April 28, 2005. The most recent report is from April 11, 2012. April has the most reports, 6.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Hanford
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Hanford 1 S, CA, in Hanford at 237 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 98°F and low of 66°F; December is the coolest, at 56°F and 36°F. January is the wettest at 1.8 inches of precipitation on average and July and August the driest at 0.0 inches; the year adds up to 8.4 inches over 24 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 108 days a year, almost all from April to October. Lows fall below freezing on about 24 nights a year. That 8.4 inches is more than at 34 of the 226 California stations used on this site (15%). Lemoore, 9 miles west, has its own station (Lemoore Reeves NAS, CA): 7.1 inches a year, 1.3 less than here, and the same July average high, 98°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 56 | 37 | 1.8 | 5 |
| Feb | 63 | 40 | 1.4 | 5 |
| Mar | 69 | 45 | 1.5 | 4 |
| Apr | 75 | 49 | 0.7 | 2 |
| May | 84 | 55 | 0.3 | 1 |
| Jun | 92 | 61 | 0.1 | 0 |
| Jul | 98 | 66 | 0.0 | 0 |
| Aug | 97 | 64 | 0.0 | 0 |
| Sep | 92 | 59 | 0.1 | 0 |
| Oct | 81 | 51 | 0.4 | 1 |
| Nov | 67 | 42 | 0.7 | 2 |
| Dec | 56 | 36 | 1.4 | 4 |
| Year | 77 | 50 | 8.4 | 24 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Hanford 1 S, CA (237 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 Hanford
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 47 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Hanford: 19 floods, 18 thunderstorm wind reports, 8 heavy rain events, 1 flash flood and 1 lightning strike. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $715,000 in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 63 mph, on May 28, 2009.
May 31, 2002: thunderstorm wind 7 miles from the centre of Hanford — $200,000 damage.
October 5, 2011: heavy rain event in Hanford — $100,000 damage.
NWS: “Brief heavy rain caused a power transformer fire and a resulting house explosion. 13 inches.”
September 11, 2017: thunderstorm wind 5 miles from the centre of Hanford — $100,000 damage.
NWS: “Media report of a dairy farm south of Hanford having several barns with extensive roof damage from thunderstorm winds.”
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
Kings County, which includes Hanford, has been named in 19 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1969, 14 of them major disasters (by incident: 7 floods, 4 severe storms, 2 biological emergencies, 1 coastal storm). 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 Kings County a Relatively Moderate rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for heat waves; Relatively Moderate for inland flooding; Relatively Low for hail and lightning; Very Low for tornadoes and strong wind. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $96.0 million a year, the 38th highest of 58 California counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $24.8 million (26%), 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 Hanford
- Armona, CA4 mi
- Laton, CA8 mi
- Lemoore, CA9 mi
- Kingsburg, CA14 mi
- Selma, CA17 mi
- Corcoran, CA17 mi
- Caruthers, CA18 mi
- Riverdale, CA18 mi
- Tulare, CA19 mi
- Visalia, CA19 mi
- Dinuba, CA20 mi
- Fowler, CA21 mi
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