NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Rosamond, 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 Rosamond, California since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 7 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 0 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 7
- 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 Rosamond
The highest rating among the 7 tornadoes within 25 miles is F0 or EF0, reached 7 times; the most recent, on September 1, 2007, came within 21 miles. Of the 7, none had a path within 5 miles of the city centre, and 3 have come since 2000. Of the 705 California cities on this site, 72% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Rosamond. Hail has been reported within 10 miles once, in 1997, with stones of 0.75 inches (penny size). Of the 705 California cities, 72% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Rosamond.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Rosamond
By decade
- 2000s3
- 1990s2
- 1980s2
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 1, 2007 | EF0 | 8 mi | 13.05 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 1, 2007 | EF0 | 21 mi | 0.05 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 15, 2005 | F0 | 23 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 21, 1997 | F0 | 25 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 26, 1995 | F0 | 22 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 20, 1988 | F0 | 21 mi | 0.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 5, 1987 | F0 | 22 mi | 0.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 7 of 7, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Rosamond
The Storm Prediction Center has one hail report within 10 miles of Rosamond, from September 2, 1997: 0.75 inches (penny size).
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Rosamond
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Lancaster Wm J Fox Field, CA, 12 miles southeast of Rosamond at 2,338 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 98°F and low of 67°F; December is the coolest, at 58°F and 30°F. February is the wettest at 1.8 inches of precipitation on average and August the driest at 0.0 inches; the year adds up to 6.9 inches over 15 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 109 days a year, almost all from April to October. Lows fall below freezing on about 68 nights a year. That 6.9 inches is more than at 24 of the 226 California stations used on this site (11%). Mojave, 15 miles northeast, has its own station (Mojave, CA): 5.7 inches a year, 1.2 less than here, and a July average high of 97°F against 98°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 59 | 31 | 1.5 | 3 |
| Feb | 62 | 35 | 1.8 | 3 |
| Mar | 67 | 40 | 1.0 | 2 |
| Apr | 73 | 45 | 0.4 | 1 |
| May | 82 | 53 | 0.1 | 0 |
| Jun | 91 | 62 | 0.1 | 0 |
| Jul | 98 | 67 | 0.1 | 0 |
| Aug | 98 | 65 | 0.0 | 0 |
| Sep | 91 | 57 | 0.1 | 0 |
| Oct | 80 | 46 | 0.3 | 1 |
| Nov | 67 | 35 | 0.4 | 1 |
| Dec | 58 | 30 | 1.1 | 2 |
| Year | 77 | 47 | 6.9 | 15 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Lancaster Wm J Fox Field, CA (2,338 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 Rosamond
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 10 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Rosamond: 6 flash floods, 3 thunderstorm wind reports and 1 flood. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $135,000 in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 81 mph, on July 20, 2006. 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 Rosamond.
September 1, 2007: thunderstorm wind 9 miles from the centre of Rosamond — $100,000 damage.
NWS: “A trained weather spotter reported a power pole on a house on 53rd Street on the west side of Rosamond. These winds were associated with the severe thunderstorm that spawned a tornado nearby.”
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 Rosamond's ZIP code 93560 have filed 23 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1991, and were paid $145,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. 22% 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, 112 have fewer than Rosamond.
Kern County, which includes Rosamond, has been named in 40 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1967, 19 of them major disasters (by incident: 17 fires, 7 floods, 6 severe storms, 2 biological emergencies). The latest major disaster declaration was Tropical Storm Hilary, on November 21, 2023. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Kern County a Relatively High rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for inland flooding, lightning and heat waves; Relatively Low for hail and strong wind; Very Low for tornadoes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $417.0 million a year, the 16th highest of 58 California counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $147.2 million (35%), 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 Rosamond
- Mojave, CA15 mi
- Lake Hughes, CA16 mi
- Lancaster, CA17 mi
- Tehachapi, CA22 mi
- Palmdale, CA26 mi
- Acton, CA28 mi
- Edwards, CA29 mi
- California City, CA29 mi
- Santa Clarita, CA31 mi
- Canyon Country, CA33 mi
- Littlerock, CA33 mi
- Castaic, CA34 mi
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