NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Santa Monica, 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 Santa Monica, California since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 33 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 0 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 33
- 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 Santa Monica
The highest rating among the 33 tornadoes within 25 miles is F2, reached 5 times; the most recent, on March 1, 1983, came within 7 miles. Of the 33, one had a path within 5 miles of the city centre, and 7 have come since 2000. March and November have had the most tornadoes, 7 each. The most recent tornado was on March 13, 2025. Santa Monica has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 84% of the 705 California cities on this site. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 2 times since 1959, with stones up to 1.25 inches (half dollar size). Of the 705 California cities, 57% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Santa Monica.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Santa Monica
By decade
- 2020s4
- 2010s1
- 2000s2
- 1990s6
- 1980s10
- 1970s3
- 1960s5
- 1950s2
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 1, 1983 | F2 | 7 mi | 3.5 mi | 0 / 30 |
| Nov 9, 1982 | F2 | 23 mi | 10 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Nov 9, 1982 | F2 | 11 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Nov 7, 1966 | F2 | 15 mi | 10.3 mi | 0 / 10 |
| Nov 7, 1966 | F2 | 14 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 22, 2023 | EF1 | 21 mi | 0.47 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Jan 9, 1998 | F1 | 25 mi | 1.5 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Mar 20, 1992 | F1 | 18 mi | 0.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Oct 1, 1983 | F1 | 10 mi | 0.3 mi | 0 / 3 |
| Nov 9, 1982 | F1 | 11 mi | 0.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 29, 1982 | F1 | 22 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jan 31, 1979 | F1 | 12 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 33, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Santa Monica
The Storm Prediction Center has 2 hail reports within 10 miles of Santa Monica since 1959. All were 1 inch across or larger, and none reached 2 inches. The largest, 1.25 inches (half dollar size), fell on February 11, 1959. The most recent report is from December 27, 2006.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Santa Monica
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Santa Monica Pier, CA, 2 miles southwest of Santa Monica at 14 feet. August is the warmest, with an average high of 70°F and low of 62°F; January is the coolest, at 62°F and 50°F. Highs reach 90°F on about 1 days a year. A night below freezing comes less than once a year on average. That 12.1 inches is more than at 66 of the 226 California stations used on this site (29%). Venice, 2 miles southeast, has its own station (Santa Monica Municipal Airport, CA): 13.5 inches a year, 1.4 more than here, and an August average high of 77°F against 70°F.
Water temperature at the NOAA tide station Santa Monica, CA, 1 mile southwest, 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, 1 mile from Santa Monica, 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 | 62 | 50 | 3.1 | 5 | 58 |
| Feb | 62 | 50 | 3.1 | 5 | 58 |
| Mar | 62 | 52 | 1.7 | 3 | 58 |
| Apr | 63 | 53 | 0.6 | 1 | 59 |
| May | 63 | 56 | 0.2 | 1 | 62 |
| Jun | 66 | 59 | 0.1 | 0 | 66 |
| Jul | 69 | 62 | 0.0 | 0 | 68 |
| Aug | 70 | 62 | 0.0 | 0 | 69 |
| Sep | 70 | 61 | 0.0 | 0 | 69 |
| Oct | 68 | 59 | 0.5 | 1 | 65 |
| Nov | 67 | 54 | 0.8 | 2 | 62 |
| Dec | 63 | 50 | 2.0 | 3 | 60 |
| Year | 66 | 55 | 12.1 | 21 | 63 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Santa Monica Pier, CA (14 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 Santa Monica
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 23 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Santa Monica: 16 flash floods, 5 thunderstorm wind reports, 1 flood and 1 lightning strike. They killed 1 person and injured 9. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 81 mph, on February 16, 2026. February has had the most flash floods, 10 of 16. Of the 550 California cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 400 have had fewer than Santa Monica.
July 27, 2014: lightning strike 3 miles from the centre of Santa Monica — 1 killed, 8 injured.
April 20, 2001: thunderstorm wind 9 miles from the centre of Santa Monica — 1 injured.
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 Santa Monica's 5 ZIP codes have filed 77 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1978, and were paid $320,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Flooding in 1980: 23 claims (30% of all) and $84,000, then Pineapple Express - Southern in 1998 with 14. 57% 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, 288 have fewer than Santa Monica.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Flooding1980 | 23 | $84,000 |
| Pineapple Express - Southern1998 | 14 | $37,000 |
Los Angeles County, which includes Santa Monica, 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 Santa Monica
- Venice, CA2 mi
- Pacific Palisades, CA3 mi
- Marina Del Rey, CA4 mi
- Culver City, CA5 mi
- Playa Del Rey, CA5 mi
- Beverly Hills, CA6 mi
- West Hollywood, CA7 mi
- El Segundo, CA8 mi
- Topanga, CA9 mi
- Inglewood, CA9 mi
- Sherman Oaks, CA9 mi
- Studio City, CA10 mi
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