NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit National City, 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 National City, California since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 11 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 0 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 11
- 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 National City
The highest rating among the 11 tornadoes within 25 miles is F1, reached 4 times; the most recent, on November 10, 2000, came within 20 miles. Of the 11, 2 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 2 have come since 2000. February has had the most tornadoes, 5. The most recent tornado was on February 23, 2005. Of the 705 California cities on this site, 55% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than National City. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 5 times since 1958, with stones up to 1 inch (quarter size). National City has more hail reports within 10 miles than 62% of the 705 California cities.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of National City
By decade
- 2000s2
- 1990s3
- 1980s3
- 1970s2
- 1950s1
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 10, 2000 | F1 | 20 mi | 0.4 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 19, 1991 | F1 | 6 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Feb 20, 1980 | F1 | 10 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 13, 1956 | F1 | 3 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Feb 23, 2005 | F0 | 3 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Feb 8, 1998 | F0 | 25 mi | 3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jan 14, 1990 | F0 | 6 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Feb 4, 1985 | F0 | 9 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 17, 1982 | F0 | 7 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jan 18, 1979 | F0 | 9 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Feb 23, 1971 | F0 | 7 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 11 of 11, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in National City
The Storm Prediction Center has 5 hail reports within 10 miles of National City since 1958. Of these, one was 1 inch across or larger, and none reached 2 inches. The largest, 1 inch (quarter size), fell on February 25, 1958. The most recent report is from December 12, 2022.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in National City
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Chula Vista, CA, 2 miles south of National City at 56 feet. August is the warmest, with an average high of 77°F and low of 66°F; December is the coolest, at 67°F and 46°F. February is the wettest at 2.3 inches of precipitation on average and August the driest at 0.0 inches; the year adds up to 9.4 inches over 20 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 5 days a year, almost all from September to October. A night below freezing comes less than once a year on average. That 9.4 inches is more than at 36 of the 226 California stations used on this site (16%). Coronado, 5 miles west, has its own station (North Island NAS, CA): 9.5 inches a year, the same as here, and the same August average high, 77°F.
Water temperature at the NOAA tide station San Diego, CA, 6 miles northwest, averaged 72°F in August and 59°F in January over 2021–2025. No month averaged 80°F. Sea level at the San Diego tide gauge, 6 miles from National City, has risen 0.88 ± 0.03 inches per decade from 1906 to 2025, NOAA's linear trend; at that pace it is 8.8 inches in a hundred years. That is faster than at 51 of the 144 U.S. gauges with a NOAA trend.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Water °F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 68 | 47 | 1.8 | 4 | 59 |
| Feb | 67 | 48 | 2.3 | 4 | 60 |
| Mar | 67 | 51 | 1.4 | 3 | 61 |
| Apr | 68 | 54 | 0.7 | 2 | 63 |
| May | 69 | 58 | 0.3 | 1 | 66 |
| Jun | 71 | 61 | 0.1 | 0 | 69 |
| Jul | 75 | 65 | 0.1 | 0 | 71 |
| Aug | 77 | 66 | 0.0 | 0 | 72 |
| Sep | 77 | 64 | 0.1 | 0 | 72 |
| Oct | 75 | 59 | 0.4 | 1 | 68 |
| Nov | 71 | 51 | 0.6 | 2 | 65 |
| Dec | 67 | 46 | 1.6 | 3 | 61 |
| Year | 71 | 56 | 9.4 | 20 | 65 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Chula Vista, CA (56 ft), from NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals; water temperature: average of hourly readings 2021–2025 at the NOAA tide station San Diego, CA, from NOAA Tides & Currents. 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 National City
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 163 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of National City: 78 floods, 45 flash floods, 18 thunderstorm wind reports, 17 heavy rain events and 5 lightning strikes. They killed 2 people and injured 20, and the NWS estimated $46.1 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 70 mph, on December 20, 2007. January has had the most flash floods, 19 of 45. Of the 550 California cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 540 have had fewer than National City.
January 29, 2021: flash flood 9 miles from the centre of National City — 1 killed, 8 injured.
February 6, 2024: flood 8 miles from the centre of National City — 1 killed.
December 17, 2008: flash flood 8 miles from the centre of National City — 3 injured, $860,000 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 National City's ZIP code 91950 have filed 55 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1979, and were paid $4.1 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from San Diego Flooding in 2024: 16 claims (29% of all) and $3.2 million. 53% 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, 245 have fewer than National City.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| San Diego Flooding2024 | 16 | $3.2 million |
San Diego County, which includes National City, has been named in 51 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1965, 27 of them major disasters (by incident: 28 fires, 12 floods, 5 severe storms, 2 biological emergencies). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storm and Flooding, on February 19, 2024. FEMA's National Risk Index gives San Diego 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 hail, coastal flooding, strong wind and lightning; Relatively Low for tornadoes; Very Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $1.54 billion a year, the 7th highest of 58 California counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $647.6 million (42%), 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 National City
- Bonita, CA4 mi
- Chula Vista, CA5 mi
- Coronado, CA5 mi
- Lemon Grove, CA6 mi
- Imperial Beach, CA6 mi
- Spring Valley, CA7 mi
- San Ysidro, CA8 mi
- La Mesa, CA8 mi
- San Diego, CA9 mi
- El Cajon, CA13 mi
- Santee, CA14 mi
- La Jolla, CA15 mi
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