NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Lancaster, 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 Lancaster, California since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 7 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 0 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 7
- 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 Lancaster
The highest rating among the 7 tornadoes within 25 miles is F0 or EF0, reached 7 times; the most recent, on September 1, 2007, came within 4 miles. Of the 7, one had a path within 5 miles of the city centre, and 4 have come since 2000. Of the 705 California cities on this site, 72% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Lancaster. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 7 times since 1980, with stones up to 1.75 inches (golf ball size). Lancaster has more hail reports within 10 miles than 76% of the 705 California cities.
Compare Lancaster's storm record with another city →
Tornadoes within 25 miles of Lancaster
By decade
- 2000s4
- 1990s2
- 1980s1
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 1, 2007 | EF0 | 10 mi | 13.05 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 1, 2007 | EF0 | 4 mi | 0.05 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 15, 2005 | F0 | 9 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 28, 2000 | F0 | 14 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 21, 1997 | F0 | 9 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 26, 1995 | F0 | 21 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 5, 1987 | F0 | 6 mi | 0.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 7 of 7, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Lancaster
The Storm Prediction Center has 7 hail reports within 10 miles of Lancaster since 1980, made on 6 separate days. Of these, 5 were 1 inch across or larger, and none reached 2 inches. The largest, 1.75 inches (golf ball size), fell on August 22, 1984. The most recent report is from October 15, 2015.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Lancaster
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Lancaster Wm J Fox Field, CA, 5 miles northwest of Lancaster at 2,338 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 98°F and low of 67°F; December is the coolest, at 58°F and 30°F. February is the wettest at 1.8 inches of precipitation on average and August the driest at 0.0 inches; the year adds up to 6.9 inches over 15 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 109 days a year, almost all from April to October. Lows fall below freezing on about 68 nights a year. That 6.9 inches is more than at 24 of the 226 California stations used on this site (11%). Palmdale, 9 miles south, has its own station (Palmdale, CA): 7.2 inches a year, 0.3 more than here, and the same July average high, 98°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 59 | 31 | 1.5 | 3 |
| Feb | 62 | 35 | 1.8 | 3 |
| Mar | 67 | 40 | 1.0 | 2 |
| Apr | 73 | 45 | 0.4 | 1 |
| May | 82 | 53 | 0.1 | 0 |
| Jun | 91 | 62 | 0.1 | 0 |
| Jul | 98 | 67 | 0.1 | 0 |
| Aug | 98 | 65 | 0.0 | 0 |
| Sep | 91 | 57 | 0.1 | 0 |
| Oct | 80 | 46 | 0.3 | 1 |
| Nov | 67 | 35 | 0.4 | 1 |
| Dec | 58 | 30 | 1.1 | 2 |
| Year | 77 | 47 | 6.9 | 15 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Lancaster Wm J Fox Field, CA (2,338 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 Lancaster
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 17 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Lancaster: 10 flash floods and 7 thunderstorm wind reports. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $5,000 in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 69 mph, on July 20, 2006. August has had the most flash floods, 4 of 10. Of the 550 California cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 285 have had fewer than Lancaster.
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 Lancaster's 3 ZIP codes have filed 43 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1983, and were paid $644,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Flooding in 1992: 11 claims (26% of all) and $55,000. 30% 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, 218 have fewer than Lancaster.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Flooding1992 | 11 | $55,000 |
Los Angeles County, which includes Lancaster, has been named in 88 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1969, 35 of them major disasters (by incident: 61 fires, 10 floods, 8 severe storms, 3 earthquakes). The latest major disaster declaration was Wildfires and Straight-Line Winds, on January 8, 2025. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Los Angeles County a Very High rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Very High for inland flooding and lightning; Relatively High for tornadoes, coastal flooding and heat waves; Relatively Moderate for hail and strong wind. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $7.60 billion a year, the highest of 58 California counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $2.81 billion (37%), 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.