NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Palmdale, 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 Palmdale, California since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 7 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 0 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 7
- 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 Palmdale
The highest rating among the 7 tornadoes within 25 miles is F0 or EF0, reached 7 times; the most recent, on September 9, 2021, came within 19 miles. Of the 7, 2 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 5 have come since 2000. Of the 705 California cities on this site, 72% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Palmdale. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 10 times since 1980, with stones up to 1.75 inches (golf ball size). Palmdale has more hail reports within 10 miles than 88% of the 705 California cities.
Compare Palmdale's storm record with another city →
Tornadoes within 25 miles of Palmdale
By decade
- 2020s1
- 2000s4
- 1990s1
- 1980s1
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 9, 2021 | EF0 | 19 mi | 1.79 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 1, 2007 | EF0 | 19 mi | 13.05 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 1, 2007 | EF0 | 5 mi | 0.05 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 15, 2005 | F0 | 12 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 28, 2000 | F0 | 7 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 21, 1997 | F0 | 2 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 5, 1987 | F0 | 4 mi | 0.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 7 of 7, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Palmdale
The Storm Prediction Center has 10 hail reports within 10 miles of Palmdale since 1980, made on 9 separate days. Of these, 7 were 1 inch across or larger, and none reached 2 inches. The largest, 1.75 inches (golf ball size), fell on August 22, 1984. The most recent report is from August 3, 2017.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Palmdale
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Palmdale, CA, in Palmdale at 2,612 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 98°F and low of 68°F; December is the coolest, at 58°F and 34°F. February is the wettest at 1.8 inches of precipitation on average and June and August the driest at 0.0 inches; the year adds up to 7.2 inches over 15 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 118 days a year, almost all from April to October. Lows fall below freezing on about 38 nights a year. That 7.2 inches is more than at 28 of the 226 California stations used on this site (12%). Littlerock, 9 miles east, has its own station (Pearblossom, CA): 6.9 inches a year, 0.3 less than here, and a July average high of 99°F against 98°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 60 | 35 | 1.4 | 3 |
| Feb | 63 | 37 | 1.8 | 3 |
| Mar | 69 | 42 | 1.1 | 3 |
| Apr | 75 | 46 | 0.4 | 1 |
| May | 83 | 53 | 0.1 | 0 |
| Jun | 92 | 61 | 0.0 | 0 |
| Jul | 98 | 68 | 0.2 | 0 |
| Aug | 98 | 66 | 0.0 | 0 |
| Sep | 93 | 60 | 0.1 | 0 |
| Oct | 81 | 50 | 0.4 | 1 |
| Nov | 68 | 40 | 0.4 | 1 |
| Dec | 58 | 34 | 1.3 | 2 |
| Year | 78 | 49 | 7.2 | 15 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Palmdale, CA (2,612 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 Palmdale
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 34 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Palmdale: 20 flash floods, 13 thunderstorm wind reports and 1 heavy rain event. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $18.0 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 69 mph, on July 20, 2006. August has had the most flash floods, 6 of 20. Of the 550 California cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 449 have had fewer than Palmdale.
January 7, 2005: heavy rain event 7 miles from the centre of Palmdale — $10.0 million damage.
February 20, 2005: flash flood 7 miles from the centre of Palmdale — $8.0 million 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 Palmdale's 4 ZIP codes have filed 30 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1978, and were paid $458,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. 23% 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 Palmdale.
Los Angeles County, which includes Palmdale, has been named in 88 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1969, 35 of them major disasters (by incident: 61 fires, 10 floods, 8 severe storms, 3 earthquakes). The latest major disaster declaration was Wildfires and Straight-Line Winds, on January 8, 2025. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Los Angeles County a Very High rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Very High for inland flooding and lightning; Relatively High for tornadoes, coastal flooding and heat waves; Relatively Moderate for hail and strong wind. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $7.60 billion a year, the highest of 58 California counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $2.81 billion (37%), 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.