NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Highland, 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 Highland, California since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 12 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 0 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 12
- 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 Highland
The strongest of the 12 tornadoes within 25 miles was an EF2 on May 22, 2008; its path came within 17 miles. Of the 12, none had a path within 5 miles of the city centre, and 7 have come since 2000. May has had the most tornadoes, 4. The most recent tornado was on September 9, 2012. Of the 705 California cities on this site, 52% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Highland. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 2 times since 2000, with stones up to 1.75 inches (golf ball size). Of the 705 California cities, 57% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Highland.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Highland
By decade
- 2010s2
- 2000s5
- 1990s3
- 1980s1
- 1950s1
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 22, 2008 | EF2 | 17 mi | 2.8 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Sep 9, 2012 | EF0 | 24 mi | 0.01 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 12, 2012 | EF0 | 25 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 22, 2008 | EF0 | 24 mi | 0.36 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 22, 2008 | EF0 | 18 mi | 0.96 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 22, 2008 | EF0 | 20 mi | 0.89 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 4, 2005 | F0 | 13 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 6, 1997 | F0 | 21 mi | 0.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 20, 1991 | F0 | 9 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 20, 1991 | F0 | 17 mi | 0.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jan 20, 1982 | F0 | 17 mi | 0.3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 6, 1955 | F0 | 9 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 12, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Highland
The Storm Prediction Center has 2 hail reports within 10 miles of Highland since 2000. Of these, one was 1 inch across or larger, and none reached 2 inches. The largest, 1.75 inches (golf ball size), fell on March 5, 2000. The most recent report is from September 20, 2024.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Highland
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Redlands, CA, 6 miles south of Highland at 1,410 feet. August is the warmest, with an average high of 96°F and low of 63°F; December is the coolest, at 67°F and 40°F. Highs reach 90°F on about 104 days a year, almost all from April to November. Lows fall below freezing on about 3 nights a year. That 12.9 inches is more than at 79 of the 226 California stations used on this site (35%). San Bernardino, 6 miles west, has its own station (Lake Arrowhead, CA): 38.0 inches a year, 25.1 more than here, and an August average high of 82°F against 96°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 67 | 41 | 2.8 | 5 |
| Feb | 67 | 42 | 3.0 | 5 |
| Mar | 71 | 45 | 2.0 | 4 |
| Apr | 76 | 48 | 0.9 | 2 |
| May | 80 | 52 | 0.4 | 1 |
| Jun | 89 | 56 | 0.1 | 0 |
| Jul | 95 | 63 | 0.1 | 1 |
| Aug | 96 | 63 | 0.1 | 0 |
| Sep | 92 | 60 | 0.1 | 0 |
| Oct | 83 | 53 | 0.5 | 1 |
| Nov | 75 | 45 | 0.9 | 2 |
| Dec | 67 | 40 | 2.0 | 4 |
| Year | 80 | 51 | 12.9 | 24 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Redlands, CA (1,410 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 Highland
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 91 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Highland: 35 flash floods, 28 floods, 18 heavy rain events, 7 lightning strikes and 3 thunderstorm wind reports. They killed 1 person and injured 1, and the NWS estimated $9.7 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 60 mph, on August 1, 2017. January has had the most flash floods, 10 of 35. Of the 550 California cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 516 have had fewer than Highland.
January 10, 2005: flash flood 1 mile from the centre of Highland — 1 killed, $10,000 damage.
November 21, 2013: flash flood 6 miles from the centre of Highland — 1 injured.
February 14, 2019: flash flood 7 miles from the centre of Highland — $5.0 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
Flood insurance policyholders in Highland's ZIP code 92346 have filed 20 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1980, and were paid $327,000 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, 90 have fewer than Highland.
San Bernardino County, which includes Highland, 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 Highland
- Redlands, CA6 mi
- Loma Linda, CA6 mi
- San Bernardino, CA6 mi
- Mentone, CA7 mi
- Running Springs, CA8 mi
- Colton, CA8 mi
- Lake Arrowhead, CA9 mi
- Grand Terrace, CA9 mi
- Crestline, CA9 mi
- Rialto, CA10 mi
- Chino, CA11 mi
- Yucaipa, CA11 mi
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