NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Riverdale, 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 Riverdale, California since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 24 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 0 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 24
- 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 Riverdale
The strongest of the 24 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F2 on April 5, 1980; its path came within 14 miles. Of the 24, none had a path within 5 miles of the city centre, and 7 have come since 2000. March has had the most tornadoes, 9. The most recent tornado was on May 19, 2019. Riverdale has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 73% of the 705 California cities on this site. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 10 times since 1980, with stones up to 2.5 inches (tennis ball size). Riverdale has more hail reports within 10 miles than 88% of the 705 California cities.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Riverdale
By decade
- 2010s3
- 2000s4
- 1990s9
- 1980s4
- 1970s3
- 1950s1
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 5, 1980 | F2 | 14 mi | 15 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Nov 22, 1996 | F1 | 8 mi | 0.8 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 8, 1986 | F1 | 17 mi | 4 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 28, 1982 | F1 | 19 mi | 5 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Mar 14, 1979 | F1 | 18 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 19, 1957 | F1 | 18 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 19, 2019 | EF0 | 17 mi | 0.35 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 17, 2012 | EF0 | 25 mi | 0.01 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jan 18, 2010 | EF0 | 20 mi | 0.53 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 9, 2005 | F0 | 19 mi | — | 0 / 0 |
| Feb 27, 2000 | F0 | 17 mi | 0.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Feb 27, 2000 | F0 | 11 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 24, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Riverdale
The Storm Prediction Center has 10 hail reports within 10 miles of Riverdale since 1980, made on 7 separate days. Of these, 6 were 1 inch across or larger, and one reached 2 inches. The largest, 2.5 inches (tennis ball size), fell on November 22, 1996. The most recent report is from April 11, 2012. March has the most reports, 4.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Riverdale
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Lemoore Reeves NAS, CA, 8 miles south of Riverdale at 232 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 98°F and low of 63°F; December is the coolest, at 56°F and 36°F. Highs reach 90°F on about 120 days a year, almost all from April to October. Lows fall below freezing on about 29 nights a year. That 7.1 inches is more than at 26 of the 226 California stations used on this site (12%). Laton, 12 miles east, has its own station (Hanford 1 S, CA): 8.4 inches a year, 1.3 more than here, and the same July average high, 98°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 56 | 37 | 1.5 | 4 |
| Feb | 63 | 39 | 1.3 | 4 |
| Mar | 69 | 43 | 1.4 | 3 |
| Apr | 76 | 46 | 0.5 | 1 |
| May | 85 | 53 | 0.4 | 1 |
| Jun | 92 | 58 | 0.0 | 0 |
| Jul | 98 | 63 | 0.0 | 0 |
| Aug | 97 | 61 | 0.0 | 0 |
| Sep | 92 | 57 | 0.0 | 0 |
| Oct | 81 | 49 | 0.4 | 1 |
| Nov | 67 | 40 | 0.5 | 2 |
| Dec | 56 | 36 | 1.1 | 4 |
| Year | 78 | 48 | 7.1 | 20 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Lemoore Reeves NAS, CA (232 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 Riverdale
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 14 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Riverdale: 7 floods, 5 thunderstorm wind reports, 1 heavy rain event and 1 lightning strike. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $84,000 in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 70 mph, on September 11, 2017.
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 Riverdale, 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 Riverdale
- Caruthers, CA8 mi
- Lemoore, CA12 mi
- Laton, CA12 mi
- San Joaquin, CA16 mi
- Armona, CA16 mi
- Hanford, CA18 mi
- Huron, CA19 mi
- Fowler, CA19 mi
- Selma, CA19 mi
- Kerman, CA21 mi
- Kingsburg, CA22 mi
- Del Rey, CA24 mi
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