NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit San Fernando, 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 San Fernando, California since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 19 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 0 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 19
- 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 San Fernando
The highest rating among the 19 tornadoes within 25 miles is F2, reached 2 times; the most recent, on March 1, 1983, came within 17 miles. Of the 19, none had a path within 5 miles of the city centre, and 2 have come since 2000. March and November have had the most tornadoes, 4 each. The most recent tornado was on December 12, 2014. San Fernando has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 62% of the 705 California cities on this site. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 6 times since 1993, with stones up to 1 inch (quarter size). San Fernando has more hail reports within 10 miles than 69% of the 705 California cities.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of San Fernando
By decade
- 2010s1
- 2000s1
- 1990s4
- 1980s6
- 1970s2
- 1960s2
- 1950s3
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 1, 1983 | F2 | 17 mi | 3.5 mi | 0 / 30 |
| Nov 9, 1982 | F2 | 7 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 20, 1992 | F1 | 20 mi | 0.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Nov 9, 1982 | F1 | 22 mi | 0.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 29, 1982 | F1 | 24 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jan 31, 1979 | F1 | 9 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Nov 9, 1964 | F1 | 25 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jan 18, 1955 | F1 | 18 mi | 3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Dec 12, 2014 | EF0 | 22 mi | 0.73 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Dec 29, 2004 | F0 | 23 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 1, 1999 | F0 | 10 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Feb 7, 1994 | F0 | 6 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 19, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in San Fernando
The Storm Prediction Center has 6 hail reports within 10 miles of San Fernando since 1993, made on 5 separate days. Of these, 2 were 1 inch across or larger, and none reached 2 inches. The largest size, 1 inch (quarter size), was reported on 2 days, most recently March 7, 2024. The most recent report is from March 7, 2024.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in San Fernando
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Northridge Cal State, CA, 6 miles southwest of San Fernando at 904 feet. August is the warmest, with an average high of 92°F and low of 64°F; December is the coolest, at 67°F and 46°F. February is the wettest at 3.9 inches of precipitation on average and July and August the driest at 0.0 inches; the year adds up to 14.7 inches over 20 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 76 days a year, almost all from April to November. Lows fall below freezing on about 1 nights a year. That 14.7 inches is more than at 102 of the 226 California stations used on this site (45%). Pacoima, 2 miles south, has its own station (Van Nuys Airport, CA): 13.6 inches a year, 1.1 less than here, and an August average high of 93°F against 92°F.
Water temperature at the NOAA tide station Santa Monica, CA, 19 miles south, averaged 69°F in August and 58°F in January and March over 2021–2025. No month averaged 80°F. Sea level at the Santa Monica tide gauge, 19 miles from San Fernando, has risen 0.60 ± 0.06 inches per decade from 1933 to 2025, NOAA's linear trend; at that pace it is 6.0 inches in a hundred years. That is faster than at 28 of the 144 U.S. gauges with a NOAA trend.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Water °F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 67 | 47 | 3.4 | 3 | 58 |
| Feb | 68 | 47 | 3.9 | 5 | 58 |
| Mar | 71 | 49 | 2.4 | 2 | 58 |
| Apr | 75 | 52 | 0.7 | 2 | 59 |
| May | 78 | 56 | 0.4 | 1 | 62 |
| Jun | 84 | 60 | 0.1 | 0 | 66 |
| Jul | 90 | 64 | 0.0 | 0 | 68 |
| Aug | 92 | 64 | 0.0 | 0 | 69 |
| Sep | 89 | 62 | 0.1 | 0 | 69 |
| Oct | 82 | 56 | 0.6 | 1 | 65 |
| Nov | 74 | 50 | 0.8 | 2 | 62 |
| Dec | 67 | 46 | 2.3 | 3 | 60 |
| Year | 78 | 54 | 14.7 | 20 | 63 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Northridge Cal State, CA (904 ft), from NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals; water temperature: average of hourly readings 2021–2025 at the NOAA tide station Santa Monica, CA, from NOAA Tides & Currents. 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 San Fernando
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 56 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of San Fernando: 36 flash floods, 15 thunderstorm wind reports, 4 floods and 1 heavy rain event. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $191.0 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 77 mph, on February 13, 2025. February has had the most flash floods, 18 of 36. Of the 550 California cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 523 have had fewer than San Fernando.
January 7, 2005: heavy rain event 5 miles from the centre of San Fernando — $190.0 million damage.
February 20, 2005: flash flood 5 miles from the centre of San Fernando — $1.0 million 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
Los Angeles County, which includes San Fernando, has been named in 88 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1969, 35 of them major disasters (by incident: 61 fires, 10 floods, 8 severe storms, 3 earthquakes). The latest major disaster declaration was Wildfires and Straight-Line Winds, on January 8, 2025. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Los Angeles County a Very High rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Very High for inland flooding and lightning; Relatively High for tornadoes, coastal flooding and heat waves; Relatively Moderate for hail and strong wind. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $7.60 billion a year, the highest of 58 California counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $2.81 billion (37%), 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 San Fernando
- Sylmar, CA2 mi
- Mission Hills, CA2 mi
- Pacoima, CA2 mi
- Granada Hills, CA4 mi
- North Hills, CA4 mi
- Panorama City, CA4 mi
- Sun Valley, CA6 mi
- Porter Ranch, CA6 mi
- Van Nuys, CA7 mi
- Northridge, CA7 mi
- Sunland, CA7 mi
- North Hollywood, CA8 mi
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