NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Palm Desert, 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 Palm Desert, California since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 2 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 0 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 2
- 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 Palm Desert
The strongest of the 2 tornadoes within 25 miles was an EF1 on August 6, 2015; its path came within 15 miles. The most recent tornado was on August 16, 2018. Of the 705 California cities on this site, 91% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Palm Desert. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 3 times since 2008, with stones up to 1 inch (quarter size). Of the 705 California cities, 44% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Palm Desert.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Palm Desert
By decade
- 2010s2
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 6, 2015 | EF1 | 15 mi | 3.98 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Aug 16, 2018 | EF0 | 22 mi | 0.24 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 2 of 2, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Palm Desert
The Storm Prediction Center has 3 hail reports within 10 miles of Palm Desert since 2008. Of these, 2 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 July 14, 2024. The most recent report is from July 14, 2024.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Palm Desert
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Indio Fire Stn, CA, 8 miles east of Palm Desert. July is the warmest, with an average high of 106°F and low of 83°F; December is the coolest, at 69°F and 45°F. January is the wettest at 0.7 inches of precipitation on average and May and June the driest at 0.0 inches; the year adds up to 3.1 inches over 6 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 184 days a year, almost all from March to November. Lows fall below freezing on about 1 nights a year. That 3.1 inches is more than at 4 of the 226 California stations used on this site (2%). Rancho Mirage, 4 miles northwest, has its own station (Palm Springs Regional Airport, CA): 4.5 inches a year, 1.4 more than here, and a July average high of 109°F against 106°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 70 | 47 | 0.7 | 2 |
| Feb | 73 | 51 | 0.6 | 1 |
| Mar | 80 | 57 | 0.3 | 1 |
| Apr | 86 | 63 | 0.1 | 0 |
| May | 93 | 69 | 0.0 | 0 |
| Jun | 102 | 77 | 0.0 | 0 |
| Jul | 106 | 83 | 0.1 | 0 |
| Aug | 105 | 83 | 0.3 | 0 |
| Sep | 101 | 77 | 0.1 | 0 |
| Oct | 91 | 66 | 0.2 | 0 |
| Nov | 78 | 53 | 0.2 | 0 |
| Dec | 69 | 45 | 0.5 | 1 |
| Year | 88 | 64 | 3.1 | 6 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Indio 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 Palm Desert
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 58 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Palm Desert: 25 flash floods, 14 thunderstorm wind reports, 10 floods, 5 lightning strikes and 4 heavy rain events. They killed 0 people and injured 1, and the NWS estimated $2.1 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 70 mph, on July 30, 2015. August has had the most flash floods, 8 of 25. Of the 550 California cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 484 have had fewer than Palm Desert.
July 20, 2008: flash flood 7 miles from the centre of Palm Desert — 1 injured, $500,000 damage.
September 9, 2017: flash flood 10 miles from the centre of Palm Desert — $400,000 damage.
October 17, 2005: flash flood 2 miles from the centre of Palm Desert — $200,000 damage.
NWS: “Strong orographic lifting on the desert slopes of the mountains caused heavy rain and flash flooding at numerous locations in the Coachella Valley during the early morning hours of the 18th. Several roads were closed in Indio, Cathedral City, Palm Springs, Desert Hot Springs, and Thousand Palms.”
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 Palm Desert's 2 ZIP codes have filed 296 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1978, and were paid $2.8 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Flooding in 1980: 11 claims (4% of all) and $9,372. The year with the most claims was 1979, with 112. 9% 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, 385 have fewer than Palm Desert.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Flooding1980 | 11 | $9,372 |
Riverside County, which includes Palm Desert, 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 Palm Desert
- Indian Wells, CA3 mi
- Rancho Mirage, CA4 mi
- La Quinta, CA5 mi
- Thousand Palms, CA6 mi
- Indio, CA7 mi
- Cathedral City, CA8 mi
- Coachella, CA11 mi
- Palm Springs, CA12 mi
- Desert Hot Springs, CA16 mi
- Idyllwild, CA21 mi
- Anza, CA22 mi
- Mecca, CA25 mi
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