NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Hollister, 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 Hollister, California since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 8 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 0 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 8
- 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 Hollister
The strongest of the 8 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F2 on March 11, 1985; its path came within 1 mile. Of the 8, one had a path within 5 miles of the city centre, and 4 have come since 2000. The most recent tornado was on January 6, 2016. Of the 705 California cities on this site, 68% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Hollister. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 3 times since 2008, with stones up to 1 inch (quarter size). Of the 705 California cities, 44% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Hollister.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Hollister
By decade
- 2010s2
- 2000s2
- 1990s1
- 1980s2
- 1960s1
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 11, 1985 | F2 | 1 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Dec 20, 2001 | F1 | 22 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 1, 1965 | F1 | 25 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jan 6, 2016 | EF0 | 5 mi | 0.61 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Dec 22, 2012 | EF0 | 24 mi | 1.07 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 14, 2007 | EF0 | 15 mi | 0.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Dec 11, 1992 | F0 | 25 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 3, 1987 | F0 | 15 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 8 of 8, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Hollister
The Storm Prediction Center has 3 hail reports within 10 miles of Hollister since 2008. Of these, one was 1 inch across or larger, and none reached 2 inches. The largest, 1 inch (quarter size), fell on March 15, 2008. The most recent report is from April 12, 2018.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Hollister
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Hollister 2, CA, 3 miles southwest of Hollister at 275 feet. August is the warmest, with an average high of 81°F and low of 54°F; December is the coolest, at 59°F and 38°F. January is the wettest at 3.1 inches of precipitation on average and July and August the driest at 0.0 inches; the year adds up to 13.8 inches over 31 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 25 days a year, almost all from May to October. Lows fall below freezing on about 18 nights a year. That 13.8 inches is more than at 90 of the 226 California stations used on this site (40%). Aromas, 14 miles west, has its own station (Watsonville Wtr Wks, CA): 22.7 inches a year, 8.9 more than here, and an August average high of 72°F against 81°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 60 | 39 | 3.1 | 6 |
| Feb | 62 | 41 | 2.7 | 7 |
| Mar | 66 | 43 | 2.2 | 5 |
| Apr | 69 | 45 | 1.0 | 3 |
| May | 73 | 48 | 0.4 | 1 |
| Jun | 78 | 51 | 0.1 | 0 |
| Jul | 80 | 54 | 0.0 | 0 |
| Aug | 81 | 54 | 0.0 | 0 |
| Sep | 81 | 53 | 0.1 | 0 |
| Oct | 77 | 48 | 0.6 | 2 |
| Nov | 67 | 42 | 1.3 | 3 |
| Dec | 59 | 38 | 2.3 | 5 |
| Year | 71 | 46 | 13.8 | 31 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Hollister 2, CA (275 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 Hollister
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 20 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Hollister: 15 floods and 5 flash floods. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $7.0 million in property and crop damage. February has had the most flash floods, 3 of 5. Of the 550 California cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 163 have had fewer than Hollister.
January 27, 2021: flood 5 miles from the centre of Hollister — $2.5 million damage.
NWS: “Damage to Cienega Rd from Mudstone Ranch to Bird Creek. Damage occurred sometime between the 26th and the end of the event.”
January 27, 2021: flood 9 miles from the centre of Hollister — $2.0 million damage.
January 27, 2021: flood 3 miles from the centre of Hollister — $2.0 million damage.
NWS: “Southside Rd damaged from Hollister to Tres Pinos Creek. Exact time of damage occurrence unknown, estimate sent by public works.”
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 Hollister's ZIP code 95023 have filed 112 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1995, and were paid $3.7 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from California Atmospheric River in 2023: 34 claims (30% of all) and $2.0 million, then Pineapple Express - Southern in 1998 with 22. The year with the most claims was 2017, with 39. 57% 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, 329 have fewer than Hollister.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| California Atmospheric River2023 | 34 | $2.0 million |
| Pineapple Express - Southern1998 | 22 | $313,000 |
San Benito County, which includes Hollister, has been named in 18 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1969, 13 of them major disasters (by incident: 6 floods, 5 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 San Benito County a Relatively Moderate rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Low for inland flooding and heat waves; Very Low for tornadoes, hail, strong wind and lightning. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $80.0 million a year, the 40th highest of 58 California counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $18.2 million (23%), 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 Hollister
- San Juan Bautista, CA9 mi
- Aromas, CA14 mi
- Gilroy, CA15 mi
- Salinas, CA18 mi
- San Martin, CA20 mi
- Castroville, CA22 mi
- Watsonville, CA22 mi
- Freedom, CA23 mi
- Gonzales, CA24 mi
- Morgan Hill, CA25 mi
- Marina, CA26 mi
- Aptos, CA30 mi
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