NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Hilmar, 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 Hilmar, California since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 23 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 0 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 23
- 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 Hilmar
The strongest of the 23 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F2 on April 27, 1953; its path came within 18 miles. Of the 23, one had a path within 5 miles of the city centre, and 13 have come since 2000. April has had the most tornadoes, 9. The most recent tornado was on April 1, 2025. Hilmar has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 71% of the 705 California cities on this site. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 2 times since 2005, with stones up to 1 inch (quarter size). Of the 705 California cities, 57% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Hilmar.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Hilmar
By decade
- 2020s1
- 2010s3
- 2000s9
- 1990s3
- 1970s4
- 1960s1
- 1950s2
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 27, 1953 | F2 | 18 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Nov 15, 2015 | EF1 | 10 mi | 3.04 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 14, 2006 | F1 | 18 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Dec 16, 2002 | F1 | 20 mi | 1.3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Nov 22, 1996 | F1 | 24 mi | 0.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 4, 1978 | F1 | 2 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Mar 4, 1978 | F1 | 16 mi | 2.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 1, 1978 | F1 | 19 mi | 1.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 22, 1967 | F1 | 22 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 1, 1958 | F1 | 7 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 1, 2025 | EF0 | 23 mi | 0.9 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 27, 2016 | EF0 | 17 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 23, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Hilmar
The Storm Prediction Center has 2 hail reports within 10 miles of Hilmar since 2005. Of these, one was 1 inch across or larger, and none reached 2 inches. The largest, 1 inch (quarter size), fell on May 7, 2015, the most recent report.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Hilmar
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Turlock #2, CA, 7 miles north of Hilmar at 103 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 93°F and low of 66°F; December is the coolest, at 55°F and 42°F. Highs reach 90°F on about 80 days a year, almost all from May to October. Lows fall below freezing on about 7 nights a year. That 12.4 inches is more than at 71 of the 226 California stations used on this site (31%). Newman, 10 miles southwest, has its own station (Newman, CA): 11.8 inches a year, 0.6 less than here, and a July average high of 100°F against 93°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 55 | 42 | 2.6 | 6 |
| Feb | 61 | 45 | 2.3 | 6 |
| Mar | 67 | 49 | 1.9 | 5 |
| Apr | 72 | 52 | 0.9 | 3 |
| May | 80 | 57 | 0.6 | 1 |
| Jun | 88 | 62 | 0.1 | 0 |
| Jul | 93 | 66 | 0.0 | 0 |
| Aug | 92 | 65 | 0.0 | 0 |
| Sep | 88 | 62 | 0.0 | 0 |
| Oct | 77 | 55 | 0.6 | 1 |
| Nov | 64 | 47 | 1.1 | 3 |
| Dec | 55 | 42 | 2.3 | 6 |
| Year | 74 | 54 | 12.4 | 31 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Turlock #2, CA (103 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 Hilmar
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 18 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Hilmar: 18 floods. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $500,000 in property and crop damage.
March 27, 2011: flood 7 miles from the centre of Hilmar — $500,000 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
Merced County, which includes Hilmar, has been named in 19 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1969, 14 of them major disasters (by incident: 6 severe storms, 5 floods, 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 Merced County a Relatively High rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for inland flooding, lightning and heat waves; Relatively Low for tornadoes, hail and strong wind. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $204.8 million a year, the 25th highest of 58 California counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $58.8 million (29%), 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 Hilmar
- Delhi, CA6 mi
- Turlock, CA7 mi
- Livingston, CA9 mi
- Newman, CA10 mi
- Keyes, CA11 mi
- Denair, CA12 mi
- Ceres, CA13 mi
- Hughson, CA13 mi
- Winton, CA15 mi
- Atwater, CA15 mi
- Patterson, CA16 mi
- Gustine, CA17 mi
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