NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Madera, 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 Madera, California since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 31 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 0 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 31
- 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 Madera
The strongest of the 31 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F2 on March 22, 1962; its path came within 17 miles. Of the 31, 4 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 8 have come since 2000. March has had the most tornadoes, 9. The most recent tornado was on March 1, 2024. Madera has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 82% of the 705 California cities on this site. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 11 times since 1983, with stones up to 1.75 inches (golf ball size). Madera has more hail reports within 10 miles than 90% of the 705 California cities.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Madera
By decade
- 2020s1
- 2010s3
- 2000s4
- 1990s13
- 1980s3
- 1970s1
- 1960s3
- 1950s3
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 22, 1962 | F2 | 17 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 20, 2002 | F1 | 2 mi | 2.7 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Feb 14, 1998 | F1 | 23 mi | 3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jan 14, 1995 | F1 | 17 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Feb 19, 1980 | F1 | 21 mi | 1.7 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Apr 21, 1967 | F1 | 2 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 19, 1957 | F1 | 21 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 1, 2024 | EF0 | 5 mi | 0.42 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 2, 2019 | EF0 | 24 mi | 0.17 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Feb 15, 2019 | EF0 | 19 mi | 0.56 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jan 18, 2010 | EF0 | 18 mi | 0.53 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 7, 2001 | F0 | 21 mi | 0.3 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 31, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Madera
The Storm Prediction Center has 11 hail reports within 10 miles of Madera since 1983, made on 8 separate days. Of these, 4 were 1 inch across or larger, and none reached 2 inches. The largest, 1.75 inches (golf ball size), fell on May 20, 2002. The most recent report is from April 7, 2015. April has the most reports, 5.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Madera
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Madera, CA, in Madera at 270 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 96°F and low of 64°F; December is the coolest, at 55°F and 36°F. January and February are the wettest at 2.1 inches of precipitation on average and July and August the driest at 0.0 inches; the year adds up to 11.3 inches over 26 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 101 days a year, almost all from May to October. Lows fall below freezing on about 26 nights a year. That 11.3 inches is more than at 52 of the 226 California stations used on this site (23%). Pinedale, 15 miles southeast, has its own station (Fresno Yosemite International Airport, CA): 11.0 inches a year, 0.3 less than here, and a July average high of 98°F against 96°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 55 | 38 | 2.1 | 5 |
| Feb | 61 | 40 | 2.1 | 5 |
| Mar | 67 | 44 | 1.8 | 4 |
| Apr | 73 | 47 | 1.0 | 2 |
| May | 82 | 53 | 0.5 | 1 |
| Jun | 90 | 59 | 0.2 | 0 |
| Jul | 96 | 64 | 0.0 | 0 |
| Aug | 95 | 63 | 0.0 | 0 |
| Sep | 89 | 58 | 0.1 | 0 |
| Oct | 78 | 49 | 0.6 | 1 |
| Nov | 64 | 41 | 1.0 | 2 |
| Dec | 55 | 36 | 1.9 | 4 |
| Year | 75 | 49 | 11.3 | 26 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Madera, CA (270 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 Madera
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 24 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Madera: 16 floods, 4 thunderstorm wind reports, 3 heavy rain events and 1 lightning strike. They killed 1 person and injured 0, and the NWS estimated $275,000 in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 69 mph, on May 23, 1996.
December 1, 2019: heavy rain event 10 miles from the centre of Madera — 1 killed, $50,000 damage.
May 23, 1996: thunderstorm wind 9 miles from the centre of Madera — $150,000 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
Flood insurance policyholders in Madera's 3 ZIP codes have filed 30 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1978, and were paid $53,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. 33% 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, 155 have fewer than Madera.
Madera County, which includes Madera, has been named in 25 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1969, 14 of them major disasters (by incident: 7 fires, 6 floods, 5 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 Madera County a Relatively High rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for inland flooding and heat waves; Relatively Moderate for hail and lightning; Relatively Low for strong wind; Very Low for tornadoes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $161.6 million a year, the 29th highest of 58 California counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $44.7 million (28%), 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 Madera
- Pinedale, CA15 mi
- Kerman, CA16 mi
- Chowchilla, CA17 mi
- Fresno, CA18 mi
- Friant, CA20 mi
- Clovis, CA22 mi
- Le Grand, CA24 mi
- Coarsegold, CA25 mi
- San Joaquin, CA25 mi
- Mendota, CA28 mi
- Planada, CA29 mi
- Fowler, CA30 mi
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