NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Smith River, 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 Smith River, California since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 7 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 0 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 7
- 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 Smith River
The highest rating among the 7 tornadoes within 25 miles is F1, reached 2 times; the most recent, on December 30, 1992, came within 14 miles. Of the 7, one had a path within 5 miles of the city centre, and one has come since 2000. The most recent tornado was on November 9, 2002. Of the 705 California cities on this site, 72% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Smith River. Hail has been reported within 10 miles once, in 2018, with stones of 0.25 inches. Of the 705 California cities, 72% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Smith River.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Smith River
By decade
- 2000s1
- 1990s4
- 1980s1
- 1950s1
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 30, 1992 | F1 | 14 mi | 0.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Dec 11, 1992 | F1 | 14 mi | 0.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Nov 9, 2002 | F0 | 10 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jan 20, 1996 | F0 | 14 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jan 20, 1996 | F0 | 1 mi | 0.3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 22, 1983 | F0 | 10 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jan 10, 1958 | F0 | 14 mi | 0.8 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 7 of 7, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Smith River
The Storm Prediction Center has one hail report within 10 miles of Smith River, from March 1, 2018: 0.25 inches.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Smith River
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Brookings 2 SE, OR, 7 miles northwest of Smith River at 50 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 69°F and low of 52°F; January is the coolest, at 56°F and 42°F. December is the wettest at 13.9 inches of precipitation on average and July and August the driest at 0.5 inches; the year adds up to 78.2 inches over 108 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 3 days a year, almost all from September. Lows fall below freezing on about 2 nights a year. That 78.2 inches is more than at 225 of the 226 California stations used on this site (100%). Crescent City, 12 miles south, has its own station (Crescent City 3 NNW, CA): 71.6 inches a year, 6.6 less than here, and a July average high of 65°F against 69°F.
Water temperature at the NOAA tide station Crescent City, CA, 14 miles south, averaged 60°F in August and 51°F in February over 2021–2025. No month averaged 80°F. Sea level at the Crescent City tide gauge, 14 miles from Smith River, has fallen 0.30 ± 0.05 inches per decade from 1933 to 2025, NOAA's linear trend; at that pace it is 3.0 inches in a hundred years. That is faster than at 12 of the 144 U.S. gauges with a NOAA trend.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Water °F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 56 | 42 | 13.1 | 17 | 52 |
| Feb | 57 | 43 | 9.9 | 15 | 51 |
| Mar | 58 | 43 | 10.0 | 13 | 51 |
| Apr | 59 | 44 | 6.7 | 12 | 51 |
| May | 63 | 47 | 3.9 | 7 | 52 |
| Jun | 68 | 50 | 1.9 | 4 | 54 |
| Jul | 69 | 52 | 0.5 | 1 | 59 |
| Aug | 67 | 53 | 0.5 | 1 | 60 |
| Sep | 68 | 51 | 1.8 | 2 | 58 |
| Oct | 65 | 48 | 6.0 | 7 | 56 |
| Nov | 58 | 45 | 10.0 | 14 | 54 |
| Dec | 57 | 42 | 13.9 | 15 | 52 |
| Year | 62 | 47 | 78.2 | 108 | 54 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Brookings 2 SE, OR (50 ft), from NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals; water temperature: average of hourly readings 2021–2025 at the NOAA tide station Crescent City, 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 Smith River
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 9 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Smith River: 4 floods, 3 thunderstorm wind reports, 1 flash flood and 1 heavy rain event. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 81 mph, on March 13, 2011.
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
Del Norte County, which includes Smith River, has been named in 21 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1964, 18 of them major disasters (by incident: 8 floods, 6 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 Del Norte County a Relatively High rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for inland flooding; Very Low for tornadoes, hail, coastal flooding, strong wind, lightning and heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $142.4 million a year, the 31st highest of 58 California counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $15.7 million (11%), 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 Smith River
- Crescent City, CA12 mi
- Brookings, OR12 mi
- Gold Beach, OR37 mi
- Hoopa, CA59 mi
- Trinidad, CA60 mi
- Mckinleyville, CA68 mi
- Arcata, CA75 mi
- Riddle, OR78 mi
- Eureka, CA81 mi
- Winston, OR87 mi
- Myrtle Creek, OR89 mi
- Fortuna, CA94 mi
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