NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Lake Arrowhead, 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 Lake Arrowhead, 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 Lake Arrowhead
The highest rating among the 12 tornadoes within 25 miles is F1, reached 3 times; the most recent, on May 18, 1997, came within 24 miles. Of the 12, none had a path within 5 miles of the city centre, and 2 have come since 2000. March and May have had the most tornadoes, 3 each. The most recent tornado was on March 4, 2005. Of the 705 California cities on this site, 52% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Lake Arrowhead. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 3 times since 1989, with stones up to 1.75 inches (golf ball size). Of the 705 California cities, 44% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Lake Arrowhead.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Lake Arrowhead
By decade
- 2000s2
- 1990s6
- 1980s1
- 1970s1
- 1960s1
- 1950s1
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 18, 1997 | F1 | 24 mi | 9 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 18, 1997 | F1 | 24 mi | 3.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 11, 1997 | F1 | 18 mi | 0.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 4, 2005 | F0 | 17 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 14, 2004 | F0 | 24 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 6, 1997 | F0 | 13 mi | 0.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 20, 1991 | F0 | 11 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 20, 1991 | F0 | 24 mi | 0.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jan 20, 1982 | F0 | 24 mi | 0.3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 6, 1976 | F0 | 23 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 22, 1966 | F0 | 18 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 6, 1955 | F0 | 18 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 Lake Arrowhead
The Storm Prediction Center has 3 hail reports within 10 miles of Lake Arrowhead since 1989. Of these, 2 were 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 Lake Arrowhead
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Lake Arrowhead, CA, in Lake Arrowhead at 5,205 feet. August is the warmest, with an average high of 82°F and low of 57°F; December is the coolest, at 43°F and 29°F. February is the wettest at 9.9 inches of precipitation on average and July and August the driest at 0.1 inches; the year adds up to 38.0 inches over 30 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 11 days a year, almost all from June to August. Lows fall below freezing on about 105 nights a year. Snowfall averages 22.4 inches a year, most of it in March. That 38.0 inches is more than at 196 of the 226 California stations used on this site (87%). Highland, 9 miles south, has its own station (Redlands, CA): 12.9 inches a year, 25.1 less than here, and an August average high of 96°F against 82°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 44 | 29 | 8.4 | 6 | 3.0 |
| Feb | 45 | 30 | 9.9 | 7 | 5.3 |
| Mar | 52 | 32 | 5.2 | 4 | 6.7 |
| Apr | 60 | 36 | 2.8 | 3 | 2.8 |
| May | 67 | 41 | 1.2 | 1 | 0.8 |
| Jun | 76 | 49 | 0.3 | 0 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 81 | 57 | 0.1 | 1 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 82 | 57 | 0.1 | 0 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 74 | 52 | 0.3 | 1 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 63 | 43 | 2.1 | 2 | 0.0 |
| Nov | 52 | 34 | 2.4 | 2 | 0.3 |
| Dec | 43 | 29 | 5.2 | 4 | 3.5 |
| Year | 62 | 41 | 38.0 | 30 | 22.4 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Lake Arrowhead, CA (5,205 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 Lake Arrowhead
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 63 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Lake Arrowhead: 23 flash floods, 19 heavy rain events, 15 floods, 5 lightning strikes and 1 thunderstorm wind report. They killed 1 person and injured 0, and the NWS estimated $7.5 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 58 mph, on February 18, 2026. January has had the most flash floods, 11 of 23. Of the 550 California cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 471 have had fewer than Lake Arrowhead.
January 10, 2005: flash flood 9 miles from the centre of Lake Arrowhead — 1 killed, $10,000 damage.
February 14, 2019: flash flood 6 miles from the centre of Lake Arrowhead — $5.0 million damage.
January 9, 2005: flash flood in Lake Arrowhead — $1.7 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 Lake Arrowhead's 2 ZIP codes have filed 16 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1978, and were paid $181,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. 13% 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, 59 have fewer than Lake Arrowhead.
San Bernardino County, which includes Lake Arrowhead, 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 Lake Arrowhead
- Crestline, CA6 mi
- Running Springs, CA6 mi
- Highland, CA9 mi
- San Bernardino, CA10 mi
- Chino, CA13 mi
- Hesperia, CA13 mi
- Mentone, CA13 mi
- Redlands, CA14 mi
- Rialto, CA14 mi
- Oak Hills, CA15 mi
- Loma Linda, CA15 mi
- Colton, CA15 mi
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