NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Helendale, 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 Helendale, California since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 14 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 0 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 14
- 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 Helendale
The strongest of the 14 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F2 on June 25, 1954; its path came within 12 miles. Of the 14, one had a path within 5 miles of the city centre, and 2 have come since 2000. September has had the most tornadoes, 5. The most recent tornado was on May 7, 2017. Helendale has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 50% of the 705 California cities on this site.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Helendale
By decade
- 2010s2
- 1990s4
- 1980s1
- 1970s5
- 1960s1
- 1950s1
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 25, 1954 | F2 | 12 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 18, 1997 | F1 | 14 mi | 9 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 18, 1997 | F1 | 11 mi | 3.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 11, 1997 | F1 | 18 mi | 0.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 4, 1976 | F1 | 18 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 7, 2017 | EF0 | 10 mi | 0.01 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 18, 2013 | EF0 | in town | 1.02 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 6, 1997 | F0 | 24 mi | 0.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 21, 1986 | F0 | 18 mi | 0.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 6, 1976 | F0 | 18 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 6, 1976 | F0 | 19 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 6, 1976 | F0 | 18 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 14, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Helendale
The Storm Prediction Center has no hail reports within 10 miles of Helendale since 1955.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Helendale
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Victorville, CA, 16 miles south of Helendale at 2,880 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 98°F and low of 64°F; December is the coolest, at 57°F and 33°F. February is the wettest at 1.3 inches of precipitation on average and June the driest at 0.0 inches; the year adds up to 5.6 inches over 13 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 119 days a year, almost all from April to October. Lows fall below freezing on about 54 nights a year. That 5.6 inches is more than at 17 of the 226 California stations used on this site (8%). Adelanto, 13 miles southwest, has its own station (El Mirage, CA): 5.6 inches a year, the same as here, and the same July average high, 98°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 58 | 33 | 1.0 | 2 |
| Feb | 61 | 36 | 1.3 | 3 |
| Mar | 67 | 40 | 0.8 | 2 |
| Apr | 73 | 44 | 0.3 | 1 |
| May | 81 | 51 | 0.1 | 0 |
| Jun | 91 | 58 | 0.0 | 0 |
| Jul | 98 | 64 | 0.2 | 1 |
| Aug | 97 | 63 | 0.1 | 0 |
| Sep | 91 | 58 | 0.2 | 0 |
| Oct | 79 | 47 | 0.3 | 1 |
| Nov | 67 | 38 | 0.4 | 1 |
| Dec | 57 | 33 | 0.9 | 2 |
| Year | 77 | 47 | 5.6 | 13 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Victorville, CA (2,880 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 Helendale
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 13 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Helendale: 9 flash floods, 3 floods and 1 thunderstorm wind report. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $5.0 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 58 mph, on July 31, 2003. Of the 550 California cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 263 have had fewer than Helendale.
December 21, 2010: flood 7 miles from the centre of Helendale — $5.0 million damage.
NWS: “The Mojave River overflowed its banks due to a combination of heavy rain and emergency release of water from Cedar Spring Dam near Arrowhead. Numerous roads were covered with mud and closed, one bridge was washed out, a broken levee flooded a neighborhood, and three swift water rescues were performed.”
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
San Bernardino County, which includes Helendale, has been named in 61 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1965, 30 of them major disasters (by incident: 33 fires, 13 floods, 7 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 San Bernardino County a Very High rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Very High for inland flooding; Relatively High for strong wind, lightning and heat waves; Relatively Moderate for tornadoes and hail. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $2.08 billion a year, the 3rd highest of 58 California counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $959.6 million (46%), 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 Helendale
- Adelanto, CA13 mi
- Victorville, CA18 mi
- Barstow, CA19 mi
- Apple Valley, CA20 mi
- Phelan, CA24 mi
- Hesperia, CA25 mi
- Oak Hills, CA26 mi
- Boron, CA27 mi
- Pinon Hills, CA28 mi
- Lucerne Valley, CA31 mi
- Wrightwood, CA32 mi
- Edwards, CA36 mi
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