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NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database

Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit San Juan Bautista, 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 Juan Bautista, California since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 10 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 0 of them rated EF3 or stronger.

Hurricanes
0

within 75 mi, since 1851

Tropical storms
0

below hurricane strength

Tornadoes
10

within 25 mi, since 1950

EF3 or stronger
0

no recorded deaths

What the records show for San Juan Bautista

The strongest of the 10 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F2 on March 11, 1985; its path came within 7 miles. Of the 10, none had a path within 5 miles of the city centre, and 4 have come since 2000. December has had the most tornadoes, 4. The most recent tornado was on January 6, 2016. Of the 705 California cities on this site, 59% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than San Juan Bautista. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 3 times since 2017, with stones up to 0.25 inches. Of the 705 California cities, 44% have more hail reports within 10 miles than San Juan Bautista.

Compare San Juan Bautista's storm record with another city →

Tornadoes within 25 miles of San Juan Bautista

By decade

  • 2010s2
  • 2000s2
  • 1990s2
  • 1980s3
  • 1960s1
Strongest tornadoes near San Juan Bautista, California
DateRatingDistancePathKilled / injured
Mar 11, 1985F27 mi0.5 mi0 / 0
Dec 20, 2001F116 mi0.5 mi0 / 0
Dec 6, 1992F122 mi7 mi0 / 2
Apr 1, 1965F118 mi0.1 mi0 / 0
Jan 6, 2016EF011 mi0.61 mi0 / 0
Dec 22, 2012EF017 mi1.07 mi0 / 0
Apr 14, 2007EF012 mi0.2 mi0 / 0
Dec 11, 1992F017 mi0.1 mi0 / 0
Apr 3, 1987F07 mi0.1 mi0 / 0
Feb 3, 1986F023 mi0.2 mi0 / 0

The strongest 10 of 10, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.

Hail in San Juan Bautista

The Storm Prediction Center has 3 hail reports within 10 miles of San Juan Bautista since 2017. None of them reached 1 inch. The largest size, 0.25 inches, was reported on 3 days, most recently April 12, 2018. The most recent report is from April 12, 2018.

Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.

Weather by month in San Juan Bautista

The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Hollister 2, CA, 6 miles east of San Juan Bautista at 275 feet. August is the warmest, with an average high of 81°F and low of 54°F; December is the coolest, at 59°F and 38°F. January is the wettest at 3.1 inches of precipitation on average and July and August the driest at 0.0 inches; the year adds up to 13.8 inches over 31 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 25 days a year, almost all from May to October. Lows fall below freezing on about 18 nights a year. That 13.8 inches is more than at 90 of the 226 California stations used on this site (40%). Aromas, 7 miles northwest, has its own station (Watsonville Wtr Wks, CA): 22.7 inches a year, 8.9 more than here, and an August average high of 72°F against 81°F.

Monthly climate normals 1991–2020 at Hollister 2, CA
MonthHigh °FLow °FPrecip. inDays ≥ 0.1"
Jan60393.16
Feb62412.77
Mar66432.25
Apr69451.03
May73480.41
Jun78510.10
Jul80540.00
Aug81540.00
Sep81530.10
Oct77480.62
Nov67421.33
Dec59382.35
Year714613.831

Averages for 1991–2020 at Hollister 2, CA (275 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.

California weather by month, station by station →

Floods, thunderstorm wind and lightning near San Juan Bautista

Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 46 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of San Juan Bautista: 38 floods, 7 flash floods and 1 heavy rain event. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $7.2 million in property and crop damage. January has had the most flash floods, 3 of 7. Of the 550 California cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 226 have had fewer than San Juan Bautista.

  • January 27, 2021: flood 7 miles from the centre of San Juan Bautista — $2.5 million damage.

  • January 27, 2021: flood in San Juan Bautista — $2.0 million damage.

    NWS: “Damage to Salinas Grade Rd from San Juan Bautista to Monterey County. Exact time of damage occurrence unknown, estimates sent b public works.”

  • January 27, 2021: flood 8 miles from the centre of San Juan Bautista — $2.0 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

Flood insurance policyholders in San Juan Bautista's ZIP code 95045 have filed 14 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1995, and were paid $80,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Pineapple Express - Southern in 1998: 12 claims (86% of all) and $79,000. Of the 415 California cities on this site with 10 or more claims, 36 have fewer than San Juan Bautista.

Flood insurance claims in San Juan Bautista by named event
EventClaimsPaid
Pineapple Express - Southern199812$79,000

San Benito County, which includes San Juan Bautista, has been named in 18 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1969, 13 of them major disasters (by incident: 6 floods, 5 severe storms, 2 biological emergencies, 1 coastal storm). 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 San Benito County a Relatively Moderate rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Low for inland flooding and heat waves; Very Low for tornadoes, hail, strong wind and lightning. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $80.0 million a year, the 40th highest of 58 California counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $18.2 million (23%), 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 Juan Bautista