NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Lake Isabella, 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 Isabella, California since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 1 tornado has touched down within 25 miles, 0 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 1
- 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 Isabella
The only tornado within 25 miles was an F0 on November 22, 1996; its path came within 24 miles. Of the 705 California cities on this site, 96% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Lake Isabella. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 5 times since 1997, with stones up to 1 inch (quarter size). Lake Isabella has more hail reports within 10 miles than 62% of the 705 California cities.
Compare Lake Isabella's storm record with another city →
Tornadoes within 25 miles of Lake Isabella
By decade
- 1990s1
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 22, 1996 | F0 | 24 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 1 of 1, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Lake Isabella
The Storm Prediction Center has 5 hail reports within 10 miles of Lake Isabella since 1997, made on 4 separate days. Of these, one was 1 inch across or larger, and none reached 2 inches. The largest, 1 inch (quarter size), fell on September 2, 1997. The most recent report is from June 2, 2019.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Lake Isabella
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Kern River Ph 3, CA, 12 miles north of Lake Isabella at 2,703 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 99°F and low of 63°F; December is the coolest, at 60°F and 31°F. Highs reach 90°F on about 111 days a year, almost all from May to October. Lows fall below freezing on about 69 nights a year. That 11.9 inches is more than at 64 of the 226 California stations used on this site (28%). Tehachapi, 33 miles south, has its own station (Mojave, CA): 5.7 inches a year, 6.2 less than here, and a July average high of 97°F against 99°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 61 | 32 | 2.3 | 5 |
| Feb | 63 | 33 | 2.4 | 5 |
| Mar | 67 | 36 | 1.7 | 4 |
| Apr | 72 | 41 | 0.7 | 2 |
| May | 80 | 48 | 0.4 | 1 |
| Jun | 91 | 56 | 0.1 | 1 |
| Jul | 99 | 63 | 0.1 | 0 |
| Aug | 98 | 62 | 0.1 | 0 |
| Sep | 92 | 56 | 0.2 | 1 |
| Oct | 81 | 46 | 0.6 | 1 |
| Nov | 69 | 36 | 1.4 | 2 |
| Dec | 60 | 31 | 1.9 | 4 |
| Year | 78 | 45 | 11.9 | 26 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Kern River Ph 3, CA (2,703 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 Isabella
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 46 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Lake Isabella: 28 floods, 11 heavy rain events, 5 flash floods, 1 thunderstorm wind report and 1 lightning strike. They killed 0 people and injured 1, and the NWS estimated $356,000 in property and crop damage. March has had the most flash floods, 2 of 5. Of the 550 California cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 163 have had fewer than Lake Isabella.
June 3, 2009: lightning strike 1 mile from the centre of Lake Isabella — 1 injured.
NWS: “Lightning struck a 13 year old boy riding a bicycle near Lake Isabella Blvd and Highway 178.”
January 22, 2017: flood 3 miles from the centre of Lake Isabella — $150,000 damage.
NWS: “California Highway Patrol reported Lynch Canyon Road with 1 to 2 inches of roadway flooding near State Route 178 in Mountain Mesa.”
July 14, 2008: flash flood 5 miles from the centre of Lake Isabella — $100,000 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
Kern County, which includes Lake Isabella, has been named in 40 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1967, 19 of them major disasters (by incident: 17 fires, 7 floods, 6 severe storms, 2 biological emergencies). The latest major disaster declaration was Tropical Storm Hilary, on November 21, 2023. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Kern County a Relatively High rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for inland flooding, lightning and heat waves; Relatively Low for hail and strong wind; Very Low for tornadoes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $417.0 million a year, the 16th highest of 58 California counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $147.2 million (35%), 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 Isabella
- Bodfish, CA3 mi
- Tehachapi, CA33 mi
- Lamont, CA36 mi
- Bakersfield, CA38 mi
- Arvin, CA38 mi
- Richgrove, CA39 mi
- Terra Bella, CA40 mi
- Springville, CA41 mi
- Mojave, CA43 mi
- Mc Farland, CA43 mi
- Ridgecrest, CA43 mi
- Porterville, CA44 mi
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