Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit San Clemente, CA

The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Laguna Beach, CA, 12 miles northwest of San Clemente at 44 feet. August is the warmest, with an average high of 81°F and low of 61°F; December is the coolest, at 67°F and 44°F. February is the wettest at 3.4 inches of precipitation on average and August the driest at 0.0 inches; the year adds up to 12.7 inches over 23 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 4 days a year, almost all from September to October. Lows fall below freezing on about 1 nights a year. That 12.7 inches is more than at 76 of the 226 California stations used on this site (34%). Mission Viejo, 12 miles north, has its own station (Irvine Rch, CA): 13.0 inches a year, 0.3 more than here, and an August average high of 90°F against 81°F.

Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 19 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of San Clemente: 7 thunderstorm wind reports, 5 floods, 4 flash floods, 2 heavy rain events and 1 lightning strike. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $157,000 in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 70 mph, on January 20, 2017.

Flood insurance policyholders in San Clemente's 2 ZIP codes have filed 86 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1978, and were paid $637,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Pineapple Express - Southern in 1998: 24 claims (28% of all) and $191,000, then Flooding in 1988 with 14. 45% 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, 298 have fewer than San Clemente.