NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Riverside, 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 Riverside, California since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 18 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 0 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 18
- 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 Riverside
The strongest of the 18 tornadoes within 25 miles was an EF2 on May 22, 2008; its path came within 9 miles. Of the 18, 2 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 11 have come since 2000. May has had the most tornadoes, 5. The most recent tornado was on October 8, 2022. Riverside has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 59% of the 705 California cities on this site.
Compare Riverside's storm record with another city →
Tornadoes within 25 miles of Riverside
By decade
- 2020s1
- 2010s3
- 2000s7
- 1990s3
- 1980s1
- 1970s1
- 1960s1
- 1950s1
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 22, 2008 | EF2 | 9 mi | 2.8 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Mar 16, 1977 | F1 | 24 mi | 10.9 mi | 0 / 4 |
| Nov 25, 1965 | F1 | 24 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Oct 8, 2022 | EF0 | 20 mi | 1.56 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Oct 17, 2015 | EF0 | 23 mi | 0.04 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 9, 2012 | EF0 | 16 mi | 0.01 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 12, 2012 | EF0 | 17 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 22, 2008 | EF0 | 11 mi | 0.36 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 22, 2008 | EF0 | 9 mi | 0.96 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 22, 2008 | EF0 | 12 mi | 0.89 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 23, 2006 | F0 | 21 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 4, 2005 | F0 | 11 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 18, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Riverside
The Storm Prediction Center has no hail reports within 10 miles of Riverside since 1955.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Riverside
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Riverside Fire Stn 3, CA, 2 miles east of Riverside at 840 feet. August is the warmest, with an average high of 97°F and low of 65°F; December is the coolest, at 69°F and 42°F. Highs reach 90°F on about 110 days a year, almost all from March to November. Lows fall below freezing on about 2 nights a year. That 10.1 inches is more than at 42 of the 226 California stations used on this site (19%). Grand Terrace, 8 miles northeast, has its own station (Riverside Citrus Exp, CA): 9.9 inches a year, 0.2 less than here, and the same August average high, 97°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 70 | 43 | 2.2 | 4 |
| Feb | 70 | 44 | 2.5 | 5 |
| Mar | 73 | 46 | 1.6 | 3 |
| Apr | 78 | 50 | 0.6 | 1 |
| May | 81 | 55 | 0.2 | 1 |
| Jun | 89 | 59 | 0.1 | 0 |
| Jul | 95 | 64 | 0.1 | 0 |
| Aug | 97 | 65 | 0.1 | 0 |
| Sep | 93 | 62 | 0.2 | 0 |
| Oct | 84 | 55 | 0.4 | 1 |
| Nov | 76 | 47 | 0.7 | 2 |
| Dec | 69 | 42 | 1.4 | 3 |
| Year | 81 | 53 | 10.1 | 19 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Riverside Fire Stn 3, CA (840 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 Riverside
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 64 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Riverside: 29 floods, 14 flash floods, 11 thunderstorm wind reports, 6 heavy rain events and 4 lightning strikes. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $914,000 in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 75 mph, on August 9, 1998. Of the 550 California cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 363 have had fewer than Riverside.
August 29, 2013: flash flood 6 miles from the centre of Riverside — $500,000 damage.
June 3, 2009: lightning strike 4 miles from the centre of Riverside — $105,000 damage.
NWS: “An apartment complex on Chicago Ave in Riverside caught fire when it was struck by lightning. The fire damaged four upstairs units.”
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 Riverside's 7 ZIP codes have filed 61 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1978, and were paid $157,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Flooding in 1980: 20 claims (33% of all) and $75,000. 48% 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, 264 have fewer than Riverside.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Flooding1980 | 20 | $75,000 |
Riverside County, which includes Riverside, has been named in 66 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1965, 31 of them major disasters (by incident: 38 fires, 13 floods, 7 severe storms, 2 biological emergencies). The latest major disaster declaration was Tropical Storm Hilary, on November 21, 2023. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Riverside County a Very High rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Very High for inland flooding; Relatively High for heat waves; Relatively Moderate for tornadoes, hail, strong wind and lightning; Very Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $2.27 billion a year, the 2nd highest of 58 California counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $1.13 billion (50%), 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.