NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Idyllwild, 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 Idyllwild, California since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 9 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 0 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 9
- 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 Idyllwild
The highest rating among the 9 tornadoes within 25 miles is F1, reached 2 times; the most recent, on December 22, 1996, came within 12 miles. Of the 9, none had a path within 5 miles of the city centre, and 5 have come since 2000. The most recent tornado was on August 16, 2018. Of the 705 California cities on this site, 63% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Idyllwild. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 4 times since 1994, with stones up to 1.5 inches (ping pong ball size). Idyllwild has more hail reports within 10 miles than 55% of the 705 California cities.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Idyllwild
By decade
- 2010s2
- 2000s3
- 1990s3
- 1970s1
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 22, 1996 | F1 | 12 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 20, 1974 | F1 | 13 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Aug 16, 2018 | EF0 | 13 mi | 0.24 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Oct 17, 2015 | EF0 | 24 mi | 0.04 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 23, 2006 | F0 | 24 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 23, 2005 | F0 | 13 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jan 9, 2005 | F0 | 14 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 13, 1998 | F0 | 23 mi | 0.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 12, 1994 | F0 | 10 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 9 of 9, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Idyllwild
The Storm Prediction Center has 4 hail reports within 10 miles of Idyllwild since 1994. Of these, 2 were 1 inch across or larger, and none reached 2 inches. The largest, 1.5 inches (ping pong ball size), fell on August 30, 2008. The most recent report is from September 3, 2013.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Idyllwild
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Idyllwild Fire Dept, CA, 1 mile east of Idyllwild at 5,380 feet. August is the warmest, with an average high of 86°F and low of 55°F; December is the coolest, at 54°F and 30°F. February is the wettest at 5.4 inches of precipitation on average and June the driest at 0.1 inches; the year adds up to 24.6 inches over 35 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 18 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 107 nights a year. Snowfall averages 30.7 inches a year, most of it in February. That 24.6 inches is more than at 165 of the 226 California stations used on this site (73%). Palm Springs, 12 miles northeast, has its own station (Palm Springs, CA): 5.2 inches a year, 19.4 less than here, and an August average high of 108°F against 86°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 55 | 31 | 4.7 | 6 | 6.3 |
| Feb | 55 | 30 | 5.4 | 7 | 9.8 |
| Mar | 59 | 32 | 3.3 | 5 | 4.1 |
| Apr | 64 | 35 | 1.7 | 3 | 3.5 |
| May | 71 | 41 | 0.7 | 1 | 0.5 |
| Jun | 80 | 48 | 0.1 | 0 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 85 | 55 | 0.5 | 1 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 86 | 55 | 0.6 | 1 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 81 | 50 | 0.8 | 1 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 72 | 42 | 1.2 | 2 | 0.0 |
| Nov | 62 | 35 | 1.9 | 3 | 2.3 |
| Dec | 54 | 30 | 3.7 | 5 | 4.2 |
| Year | 69 | 40 | 24.6 | 35 | 30.7 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Idyllwild Fire Dept, CA (5,380 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 Idyllwild
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 43 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Idyllwild: 21 flash floods, 18 heavy rain events, 3 floods and 1 lightning strike. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $16.9 million in property and crop damage. August has had the most flash floods, 5 of 21. Of the 550 California cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 455 have had fewer than Idyllwild.
February 14, 2019: flash flood 4 miles from the centre of Idyllwild — $15.0 million damage.
NWS: “Heavy Rainfall of 5 to 9 inches in 24 hours caused devastating flash floods on Highway 243 north of Idyllwild. The state highway remains closed as of late April 2019.”
February 14, 2019: flash flood 9 miles from the centre of Idyllwild — $1.0 million damage.
September 5, 2013: flash flood 5 miles from the centre of Idyllwild — $500,000 damage.
NWS: “Significant heavy rain on the 3rd through 5th resulted in devastating flooding and debris flows in the canyon of the Riverside Mountains where the Zen Mountain Center is located. The Center sustained heavy damage from debris flows on the 4th and 5th and it is unclear which particular day was worse.”
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
Riverside County, which includes Idyllwild, has been named in 66 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1965, 31 of them major disasters (by incident: 38 fires, 13 floods, 7 severe storms, 2 biological emergencies). The latest major disaster declaration was Tropical Storm Hilary, on November 21, 2023. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Riverside County a Very High rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Very High for inland flooding; Relatively High for heat waves; Relatively Moderate for tornadoes, hail, strong wind and lightning; Very Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $2.27 billion a year, the 2nd highest of 58 California counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $1.13 billion (50%), 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 Idyllwild
- Cabazon, CA11 mi
- Palm Springs, CA12 mi
- Hemet, CA14 mi
- Anza, CA14 mi
- San Jacinto, CA14 mi
- Banning, CA15 mi
- Cathedral City, CA15 mi
- Rancho Mirage, CA17 mi
- Aguanga, CA19 mi
- Desert Hot Springs, CA19 mi
- Beaumont, CA20 mi
- Thousand Palms, CA20 mi
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