NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Portola, 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 Portola, California since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 3 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 0 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 3
- 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 Portola
The highest rating among the 3 tornadoes within 25 miles is EF1, reached 2 times; the most recent, on August 15, 2020, came within 19 miles. Of the 705 California cities on this site, 87% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Portola. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 6 times since 2000, with stones up to 1 inch (quarter size). Portola has more hail reports within 10 miles than 69% of the 705 California cities.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Portola
By decade
- 2020s3
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 15, 2020 | EF1 | 20 mi | 0.09 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 15, 2020 | EF1 | 19 mi | 0.43 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 15, 2020 | Unrated | 21 mi | 3.16 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 Portola
The Storm Prediction Center has 6 hail reports within 10 miles of Portola since 2000. 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 September 4, 2003. The most recent report is from July 21, 2015.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Portola
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Portola, CA, in Portola at 4,850 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 86°F and low of 45°F; December is the coolest, at 42°F and 19°F. December is the wettest at 4.3 inches of precipitation on average and July and August the driest at 0.3 inches; the year adds up to 23.4 inches over 44 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 22 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 204 nights a year. Snowfall averages 37.8 inches a year, most of it in January. That 23.4 inches is more than at 162 of the 226 California stations used on this site (72%). Herlong, 29 miles northeast, has its own station (Doyle 4 SSE, CA): 14.4 inches a year, 9.0 less than here, and a July average high of 88°F against 86°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 43 | 19 | 4.2 | 6 | 11.7 |
| Feb | 46 | 21 | 3.9 | 6 | 7.6 |
| Mar | 52 | 25 | 3.6 | 6 | 6.4 |
| Apr | 58 | 29 | 1.6 | 4 | 1.8 |
| May | 67 | 35 | 1.2 | 4 | 0.2 |
| Jun | 77 | 40 | 0.5 | 2 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 86 | 45 | 0.3 | 1 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 85 | 43 | 0.3 | 1 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 79 | 37 | 0.4 | 1 | 0.1 |
| Oct | 66 | 30 | 1.1 | 2 | 0.4 |
| Nov | 53 | 24 | 2.0 | 5 | 2.4 |
| Dec | 42 | 19 | 4.3 | 7 | 7.2 |
| Year | 63 | 31 | 23.4 | 44 | 37.8 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Portola, CA (4,850 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 Portola
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 19 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Portola: 15 heavy rain events, 3 floods and 1 lightning strike. They killed 1 person and injured 0, and the NWS estimated $2.0 million in property and crop damage.
June 3, 2009: lightning strike in Portola — 1 killed.
NWS: “The Plumas County Sheriff's Department reported that a woman was struck by lightning at her home in Portola. C.”
February 7, 2017: flood 8 miles from the centre of Portola — $2.0 million damage.
NWS: “The Middle Fork of the Feather River saw record flooding (a record crest at Portola on the 10th) and caused extensive structural damage in Portola, Clio, and downstream to Blairsden. Highway 89 was closed near Clio due to water over the road.”
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
Plumas County, which includes Portola, has been named in 23 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1964, 15 of them major disasters (by incident: 7 floods, 6 fires, 6 severe storms, 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 Plumas County a Relatively Moderate rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for inland flooding and lightning; Very Low for tornadoes, hail, strong wind and heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $41.1 million a year, the 47th highest of 58 California counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $21.8 million (53%), 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 Portola
- Herlong, CA29 mi
- Verdi, NV31 mi
- Truckee, CA35 mi
- Sun Valley, NV40 mi
- Reno, NV41 mi
- Nevada City, CA43 mi
- Sparks, NV43 mi
- Kings Beach, CA46 mi
- Tahoe City, CA47 mi
- Incline Village, NV48 mi
- Washoe Valley, NV52 mi
- Grass Valley, CA53 mi
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