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NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database

Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Meadow Vista, 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 Meadow Vista, 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

within 75 mi, since 1851

Tropical storms
0

below hurricane strength

Tornadoes
9

within 25 mi, since 1950

EF3 or stronger
0

no recorded deaths

What the records show for Meadow Vista

The highest rating among the 9 tornadoes within 25 miles is F1 or EF1, reached 4 times; the most recent, on December 24, 2015, came within 21 miles. Of the 9, one had a path within 5 miles of the city centre, and 4 have come since 2000. The most recent tornado was on January 9, 2017. Of the 705 California cities on this site, 63% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Meadow Vista. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 2 times since 1972, with stones up to 1 inch (quarter size). Of the 705 California cities, 57% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Meadow Vista.

Compare Meadow Vista's storm record with another city →

Tornadoes within 25 miles of Meadow Vista

By decade

  • 2010s4
  • 1990s1
  • 1980s3
  • 1970s1
Strongest tornadoes near Meadow Vista, California
DateRatingDistancePathKilled / injured
Dec 24, 2015EF121 mi6.21 mi0 / 0
Oct 22, 2012EF15 mi4.02 mi0 / 0
Apr 19, 1988F124 mi1 mi0 / 0
Mar 22, 1983F121 mi2 mi0 / 0
Jan 9, 2017EF020 mi0.18 mi0 / 0
Mar 26, 2014EF024 mi4.02 mi0 / 0
Apr 23, 1990F013 mi0.2 mi0 / 0
Mar 3, 1983F023 mi0.1 mi0 / 0
Oct 15, 1972F025 mi0.1 mi0 / 0

The strongest 9 of 9, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.

Hail in Meadow Vista

The Storm Prediction Center has 2 hail reports within 10 miles of Meadow Vista since 1972. All were 1 inch across or larger, and none reached 2 inches. The largest size, 1 inch (quarter size), was reported on 2 days, most recently February 19, 2024. The most recent report is from February 19, 2024.

Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.

Weather by month in Meadow Vista

The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Colfax, CA, 7 miles northeast of Meadow Vista at 2,380 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 92°F and low of 63°F; December is the coolest, at 54°F and 36°F. December is the wettest at 8.5 inches of precipitation on average and July the driest at 0.0 inches; the year adds up to 45.9 inches over 57 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 66 days a year, almost all from May to October. Lows fall below freezing on about 38 nights a year. Snowfall averages 7.2 inches a year, most of it in February. That 45.9 inches is more than at 211 of the 226 California stations used on this site (93%). Auburn, 6 miles southwest, has its own station (Auburn, CA): 36.1 inches a year, 9.8 less than here, and a July average high of 93°F against 92°F.

Monthly climate normals 1991–2020 at Colfax, CA
MonthHigh °FLow °FPrecip. inDays ≥ 0.1"Snow in
Jan55377.890.9
Feb57378.092.6
Mar60407.291.2
Apr66433.660.6
May74492.340.0
Jun83560.710.0
Jul92630.000.0
Aug91610.100.0
Sep86570.410.0
Oct75492.130.0
Nov61415.270.4
Dec54368.591.5
Year714745.9577.2

Averages for 1991–2020 at Colfax, CA (2,380 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.

California weather by month, station by station →

Floods, thunderstorm wind and lightning near Meadow Vista

Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 20 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Meadow Vista: 10 floods, 6 flash floods, 2 heavy rain events and 2 thunderstorm wind reports. They killed 3 people and injured 0, and the NWS estimated $116,000 in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 47 mph, on January 10, 2023. Of the 550 California cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 202 have had fewer than Meadow Vista.

  • November 23, 2024: flood 9 miles from the centre of Meadow Vista — 2 killed.

  • January 2, 2026: heavy rain event 4 miles from the centre of Meadow Vista — 1 killed.

  • March 21, 2018: flood 5 miles from the centre of Meadow Vista — $100,000 damage.

    NWS: “Combie road flooded due to overtopping of the adjacent Ragsdale Creek.”

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

Placer County, which includes Meadow Vista, has been named in 26 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1964, 13 of them major disasters (by incident: 9 fires, 6 floods, 6 severe storms, 2 biological emergencies). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Winter Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides, on January 14, 2023. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Placer County a Relatively Moderate rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for inland flooding and lightning; Relatively Low for strong wind and heat waves; Very Low for tornadoes and hail. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $162.6 million a year, the 28th highest of 58 California counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $107.3 million (66%), 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 Meadow Vista