NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Mecca, 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
1 tropical system has passed within 75 miles of Mecca, California since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Nora in 1997. Since 1950, 3 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 1 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 1
- Tornadoes
- 3
- EF3 or stronger
- 1
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
no recorded deaths
What the records show for Mecca
None of the 1 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Mecca; the strongest was Nora in 1997, a tropical storm with 41 mph winds when its centre passed 72 miles away. Mecca has more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than 98% of the 705 California cities on this site. The strongest of the 3 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F3 on February 9, 1978; its path came within 15 miles. The most recent tornado was on August 6, 2015. Of the 705 California cities, 87% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Mecca.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Mecca
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | NoraSep 25 | 72 mi | Tropical storm (41 mph) | Category 4 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Mecca: a hurricane's worst winds sit within a few dozen miles of its centre, and inland cities are usually past that.
Tornadoes within 25 miles of Mecca
By decade
- 2010s1
- 1980s1
- 1970s1(1 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 9, 1978 | F3 | 15 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 6 |
| Aug 6, 2015 | EF1 | 7 mi | 3.98 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Sep 18, 1985 | F0 | 4 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 3 of 3, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Mecca
The Storm Prediction Center has no hail reports within 10 miles of Mecca since 1955.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Mecca
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Mecca Fire Stn, CA, 5 miles west of Mecca. July is the warmest, with an average high of 107°F and low of 80°F; December is the coolest, at 69°F and 42°F. January and February are the wettest at 0.6 inches of precipitation on average and May and June the driest at 0.0 inches; the year adds up to 3.1 inches over 7 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 195 days a year, almost all from February to November. Lows fall below freezing on about 8 nights a year. That 3.1 inches is more than at 3 of the 226 California stations used on this site (1%). Coachella, 14 miles northwest, has its own station (Indio Fire Stn, CA): 3.1 inches a year, the same as here, and a July average high of 106°F against 107°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 70 | 44 | 0.6 | 2 |
| Feb | 74 | 47 | 0.6 | 1 |
| Mar | 81 | 54 | 0.3 | 1 |
| Apr | 87 | 59 | 0.2 | 0 |
| May | 95 | 66 | 0.0 | 0 |
| Jun | 103 | 72 | 0.0 | 0 |
| Jul | 107 | 80 | 0.2 | 0 |
| Aug | 106 | 80 | 0.1 | 0 |
| Sep | 102 | 74 | 0.3 | 1 |
| Oct | 91 | 62 | 0.2 | 1 |
| Nov | 78 | 50 | 0.2 | 1 |
| Dec | 69 | 42 | 0.4 | 1 |
| Year | 88 | 61 | 3.1 | 7 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Mecca Fire Stn, CA, 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 Mecca
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 31 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Mecca: 21 flash floods, 4 thunderstorm wind reports, 3 floods and 3 heavy rain events. They killed 1 person and injured 1, and the NWS estimated $2.7 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 58 mph, on August 6, 2015. September has had the most flash floods, 9 of 21. Of the 550 California cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 455 have had fewer than Mecca.
September 30, 2018: flash flood 7 miles from the centre of Mecca — 1 killed, $50,000 damage.
NWS: “Thunderstorms with very heavy rain developed across portions of eastern Riverside County during the evening hours on September 30th. The stronger storms produced intense rain that led to flash flooding to the southwest of Joshua Tree National Park and to the north of the Salton Sea.”
September 30, 2018: flash flood 8 miles from the centre of Mecca — 1 injured, $200,000 damage.
September 11, 2012: flash flood 5 miles from the centre of Mecca — $2.0 million damage.
NWS: “A stationary thunderstorm brought persistent heavy rain in Mecca between 0200 and 0800 PST, resulting in flash flooding of two mobile home parks. Approximately 15 to 20 mobile homes in the Duroville and Saint Anthony's mobile home parks were damaged.”
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
Riverside County, which includes Mecca, has been named in 66 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1965, 31 of them major disasters (by incident: 38 fires, 13 floods, 7 severe storms, 2 biological emergencies). The latest major disaster declaration was Tropical Storm Hilary, on November 21, 2023. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Riverside County a Very High rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Very High for inland flooding; Relatively High for heat waves; Relatively Moderate for tornadoes, hail, strong wind and lightning; Very Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $2.27 billion a year, the 2nd highest of 58 California counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $1.13 billion (50%), 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 Mecca
- Thermal, CA7 mi
- Coachella, CA14 mi
- Indio, CA19 mi
- La Quinta, CA20 mi
- Indian Wells, CA23 mi
- Palm Desert, CA25 mi
- Niland, CA26 mi
- Rancho Mirage, CA29 mi
- Thousand Palms, CA29 mi
- Borrego Springs, CA29 mi
- Cathedral City, CA33 mi
- Palm Springs, CA37 mi
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