NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Rancho Santa Margarita, 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 Rancho Santa Margarita, California since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 38 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 0 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 38
- 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 Rancho Santa Margarita
The highest rating among the 38 tornadoes within 25 miles is F2 or EF2, reached 2 times; the most recent, on May 22, 2008, came within 23 miles. Of the 38, one had a path within 5 miles of the city centre, and 11 have come since 2000. January and February have had the most tornadoes, 7 each. The most recent tornado was on October 8, 2022. Rancho Santa Margarita has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 87% of the 705 California cities on this site. Hail has been reported within 10 miles once, in 2000, with stones of 1 inch (quarter size). Of the 705 California cities, 72% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Rancho Santa Margarita.
Compare Rancho Santa Margarita's storm record with another city →
Tornadoes within 25 miles of Rancho Santa Margarita
By decade
- 2020s1
- 2010s2
- 2000s8
- 1990s13
- 1980s7
- 1970s2
- 1960s4
- 1950s1
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 22, 2008 | EF2 | 23 mi | 2.8 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Nov 7, 1966 | F2 | 18 mi | 0.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Dec 21, 1997 | F1 | 23 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Nov 11, 1997 | F1 | 13 mi | 0.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Dec 7, 1992 | F1 | 22 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Dec 7, 1992 | F1 | 24 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 27, 1991 | F1 | 20 mi | 3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 16, 1986 | F1 | 22 mi | 1.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Nov 9, 1982 | F1 | 6 mi | 0.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jan 31, 1979 | F1 | 18 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 16, 1977 | F1 | 21 mi | 10.9 mi | 0 / 4 |
| Nov 7, 1966 | F1 | 16 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 38, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Rancho Santa Margarita
The Storm Prediction Center has one hail report within 10 miles of Rancho Santa Margarita, from April 18, 2000: 1 inch (quarter size).
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Radar-estimated hail days in Rancho Santa Margarita since 2019 →
Weather by month in Rancho Santa Margarita
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Irvine Rch, CA, 9 miles northwest of Rancho Santa Margarita at 540 feet. August is the warmest, with an average high of 90°F and low of 62°F; December is the coolest, at 68°F and 48°F. February is the wettest at 3.5 inches of precipitation on average and June and August the driest at 0.0 inches; the year adds up to 13.0 inches over 21 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 62 days a year, almost all from March to November. Lows fall below freezing on about 1 nights a year. That 13.0 inches is more than at 81 of the 226 California stations used on this site (36%). Lake Forest, 5 miles west, has its own station (Tustin Irvine Rch, CA): 14.2 inches a year, 1.2 more than here, and an August average high of 87°F against 90°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 69 | 49 | 2.7 | 4 |
| Feb | 71 | 48 | 3.5 | 4 |
| Mar | 73 | 50 | 1.7 | 3 |
| Apr | 76 | 52 | 0.9 | 2 |
| May | 79 | 56 | 0.3 | 1 |
| Jun | 83 | 59 | 0.0 | 0 |
| Jul | 88 | 62 | 0.1 | 0 |
| Aug | 90 | 62 | 0.0 | 0 |
| Sep | 89 | 62 | 0.1 | 0 |
| Oct | 84 | 58 | 0.6 | 2 |
| Nov | 76 | 53 | 0.8 | 2 |
| Dec | 68 | 48 | 2.3 | 4 |
| Year | 79 | 55 | 13.0 | 21 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Irvine Rch, CA (540 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 Rancho Santa Margarita
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 44 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Rancho Santa Margarita: 19 heavy rain events, 12 flash floods, 9 floods, 3 thunderstorm wind reports and 1 lightning strike. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $1.7 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 81 mph, on February 19, 2005. Of the 550 California cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 322 have had fewer than Rancho Santa Margarita.
December 14, 2021: flash flood 8 miles from the centre of Rancho Santa Margarita — $800,000 damage.
May 22, 2008: flash flood 5 miles from the centre of Rancho Santa Margarita — $500,000 damage.
May 22, 2008: flash flood 3 miles from the centre of Rancho Santa Margarita — $150,000 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
Orange County, which includes Rancho Santa Margarita, has been named in 43 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1969, 24 of them major disasters (by incident: 20 fires, 11 floods, 5 severe storms, 2 biological emergencies). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on March 22, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Orange County a Very High rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Very High for inland flooding; Relatively High for coastal flooding and heat waves; Relatively Moderate for tornadoes, hail, strong wind and lightning. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $1.93 billion a year, the 5th highest of 58 California counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $819.9 million (43%), 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 Rancho Santa Margarita
- Trabuco Canyon, CA1 mi
- Mission Viejo, CA3 mi
- Foothill Ranch, CA5 mi
- Lake Forest, CA5 mi
- Ladera Ranch, CA5 mi
- Laguna Hills, CA7 mi
- Laguna Woods, CA7 mi
- Aliso Viejo, CA8 mi
- Laguna Niguel, CA9 mi
- San Juan Capistrano, CA10 mi
- Irvine, CA11 mi
- Laguna Beach, CA12 mi
All California cities →All hurricanes since 1851 →Compare Rancho Santa Margarita with another place →