NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Sierra Madre, 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 Sierra Madre, California since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 39 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 0 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 39
- 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 Sierra Madre
The highest rating among the 39 tornadoes within 25 miles is F2, reached 5 times; the most recent, on March 1, 1983, came within 19 miles. Of the 39, one had a path within 5 miles of the city centre, and 10 have come since 2000. March has had the most tornadoes, 9. The most recent tornado was on March 13, 2025. Sierra Madre has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 88% of the 705 California cities on this site. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 7 times since 1994, with stones up to 1.25 inches (half dollar size). Sierra Madre has more hail reports within 10 miles than 76% of the 705 California cities.
Compare Sierra Madre's storm record with another city →
Tornadoes within 25 miles of Sierra Madre
By decade
- 2020s5
- 2010s1
- 2000s4
- 1990s9
- 1980s11
- 1970s3
- 1960s4
- 1950s2
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 1, 1983 | F2 | 19 mi | 3.5 mi | 0 / 30 |
| Nov 9, 1982 | F2 | 20 mi | 10 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Nov 9, 1982 | F2 | 23 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Nov 7, 1966 | F2 | 20 mi | 10.3 mi | 0 / 10 |
| Nov 7, 1966 | F2 | 23 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 22, 2023 | EF1 | 12 mi | 0.47 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Jan 14, 1993 | F1 | 21 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Dec 7, 1992 | F1 | 24 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 20, 1992 | F1 | 9 mi | 0.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 16, 1986 | F1 | 24 mi | 1.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Oct 1, 1983 | F1 | 24 mi | 0.3 mi | 0 / 3 |
| Mar 29, 1982 | F1 | 7 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 39, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Sierra Madre
The Storm Prediction Center has 7 hail reports within 10 miles of Sierra Madre since 1994, made on 5 separate days. Of these, 4 were 1 inch across or larger, and none reached 2 inches. The largest, 1.25 inches (half dollar size), fell on October 17, 2005. The most recent report is from March 24, 2024.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Sierra Madre
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Mt Wilson Cbs, CA, 5 miles north of Sierra Madre at 5,710 feet. August is the warmest, with an average high of 85°F and low of 64°F; February is the coolest, at 55°F and 37°F. February is the wettest at 8.3 inches of precipitation on average and August the driest at 0.0 inches; the year adds up to 32.2 inches over 30 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 16 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 50 nights a year. That 32.2 inches is more than at 185 of the 226 California stations used on this site (82%). Arcadia, 2 miles south, has its own station (San Gabriel Fire Dept, CA): 15.5 inches a year, 16.7 less than here, and an August average high of 88°F against 85°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 56 | 38 | 7.7 | 5 |
| Feb | 55 | 37 | 8.3 | 7 |
| Mar | 59 | 39 | 5.1 | 4 |
| Apr | 63 | 42 | 2.1 | 3 |
| May | 70 | 48 | 1.1 | 1 |
| Jun | 79 | 58 | 0.2 | 0 |
| Jul | 85 | 64 | 0.2 | 0 |
| Aug | 85 | 64 | 0.0 | 0 |
| Sep | 81 | 59 | 0.3 | 1 |
| Oct | 72 | 51 | 1.3 | 2 |
| Nov | 63 | 43 | 1.9 | 3 |
| Dec | 55 | 37 | 4.0 | 5 |
| Year | 68 | 48 | 32.2 | 30 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Mt Wilson Cbs, CA (5,710 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 Sierra Madre
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 27 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Sierra Madre: 19 flash floods, 7 thunderstorm wind reports and 1 flood. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 78 mph, on February 18, 2026. February has had the most flash floods, 5 of 19. Of the 550 California cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 434 have had fewer than Sierra Madre.
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 Sierra Madre's ZIP code 91024 have filed 21 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1978, and were paid $67,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. 33% 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, 95 have fewer than Sierra Madre.
Los Angeles County, which includes Sierra Madre, 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.