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NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database

Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Pinedale, 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 Pinedale, California since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 33 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
33

within 25 mi, since 1950

EF3 or stronger
0

no recorded deaths

What the records show for Pinedale

The strongest of the 33 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F2 on March 22, 1962; its path came within 3 miles. Of the 33, 4 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 12 have come since 2000. February and March have had the most tornadoes, 8 each. The most recent tornado was on March 1, 2024. Pinedale has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 84% of the 705 California cities on this site. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 21 times since 1957, with stones up to 1.75 inches (golf ball size). Pinedale has more hail reports within 10 miles than 99% of the 705 California cities.

Compare Pinedale's storm record with another city →

Tornadoes within 25 miles of Pinedale

By decade

  • 2020s1
  • 2010s4
  • 2000s7
  • 1990s8
  • 1980s4
  • 1970s3
  • 1960s3
  • 1950s3
Strongest tornadoes near Pinedale, California
DateRatingDistancePathKilled / injured
Mar 22, 1962F23 mi0.5 mi0 / 0
Jan 17, 2019EF113 mi0.25 mi0 / 0
May 20, 2002F115 mi2.7 mi0 / 0
Mar 8, 1986F122 mi4 mi0 / 0
Mar 28, 1982F121 mi5 mi0 / 1
Feb 19, 1980F17 mi1.7 mi0 / 2
Mar 14, 1979F118 mi2 mi0 / 0
Apr 21, 1967F117 mi0.1 mi0 / 0
May 19, 1957F110 mi0.1 mi0 / 0
Mar 1, 2024EF019 mi0.42 mi0 / 0
Feb 15, 2019EF022 mi0.56 mi0 / 0
Feb 12, 2018EF020 mi0.3 mi0 / 0

The strongest 12 of 33, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.

Hail in Pinedale

The Storm Prediction Center has 21 hail reports within 10 miles of Pinedale since 1957, made on 14 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 May 13, 1957. The most recent report is from April 12, 2010. May has the most reports, 6.

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

Weather by month in Pinedale

The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Fresno Yosemite International Airport, CA, 6 miles southeast of Pinedale at 333 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 98°F and low of 69°F; December is the coolest, at 55°F and 40°F. January is the wettest at 2.2 inches of precipitation on average and July and August the driest at 0.0 inches; the year adds up to 11.0 inches over 26 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 113 days a year, almost all from April to October. Lows fall below freezing on about 11 nights a year. That 11.0 inches is more than at 49 of the 226 California stations used on this site (22%). Friant, 14 miles northeast, has its own station (Friant Government Camp, CA): 14.8 inches a year, 3.8 more than here, and a July average high of 99°F against 98°F.

Monthly climate normals 1991–2020 at Fresno Yosemite International Airport, CA
MonthHigh °FLow °FPrecip. inDays ≥ 0.1"
Jan55412.25
Feb61431.95
Mar68471.94
Apr74511.02
May83580.41
Jun91640.20
Jul98690.00
Aug97680.00
Sep91630.10
Oct79550.61
Nov65450.92
Dec55401.84
Year765411.026

Averages for 1991–2020 at Fresno Yosemite International Airport, CA (333 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 Pinedale

Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 146 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Pinedale: 86 floods, 32 heavy rain events, 20 thunderstorm wind reports, 6 flash floods and 2 lightning strikes. They killed 2 people and injured 1, and the NWS estimated $19.4 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 69 mph, on May 23, 1996. October has had the most flash floods, 3 of 6. Of the 550 California cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 202 have had fewer than Pinedale.

  • December 1, 2019: heavy rain event 7 miles from the centre of Pinedale — 1 killed, $50,000 damage.

    NWS: “Moderate to heavy rain caused a multiple vehicle accident on SR 99 just north of Fresno. Some of the individuals who had occupied the cars in the crash were then struck by a drunk driver which killed one of the individuals.”

  • November 20, 2016: heavy rain event 8 miles from the centre of Pinedale — 1 killed.

  • February 28, 2014: lightning strike 4 miles from the centre of Pinedale — 1 injured.

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

Fresno County, which includes Pinedale, has been named in 20 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1969, 13 of them major disasters (by incident: 6 floods, 4 severe storms, 3 fires, 2 biological emergencies). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Winter Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides, on April 3, 2023. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Fresno County a Relatively High rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for hail, inland flooding, lightning and heat waves; Relatively Low for tornadoes; Very Low for strong wind. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $557.3 million a year, the 13th highest of 58 California counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $166.1 million (30%), 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 Pinedale