NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit South Lake Tahoe, 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 South Lake Tahoe, California since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 4 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 0 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 4
- 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 South Lake Tahoe
The highest rating among the 4 tornadoes within 25 miles is F0 or EF0, reached 4 times; the most recent, on September 21, 2017, came within 9 miles. Of the 705 California cities on this site, 83% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than South Lake Tahoe. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 16 times since 1983, with stones up to 1.75 inches (golf ball size). South Lake Tahoe has more hail reports within 10 miles than 96% of the 705 California cities.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of South Lake Tahoe
By decade
- 2010s3
- 2000s1
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 21, 2017 | EF0 | 9 mi | 0.44 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 13, 2017 | EF0 | 19 mi | 2.01 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 8, 2015 | EF0 | 3 mi | 2.68 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 2, 2003 | F0 | 22 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 4 of 4, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in South Lake Tahoe
The Storm Prediction Center has 16 hail reports within 10 miles of South Lake Tahoe since 1983, made on 12 separate days. Of these, 7 were 1 inch across or larger, and none reached 2 inches. The largest size, 1.75 inches (golf ball size), was reported on 2 days, most recently August 20, 2017. The most recent report is from July 26, 2025. July and August have the most reports, 6 each.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in South Lake Tahoe
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is South Lake Tahoe Airport, CA, 1 mile southeast of South Lake Tahoe at 6,314 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 80°F and low of 43°F; December is the coolest, at 43°F and 18°F. February is the wettest at 3.8 inches of precipitation on average and September the driest at 0.3 inches; the year adds up to 20.6 inches over 40 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 1 days a year. Lows fall below freezing on about 223 nights a year. That 20.6 inches is more than at 148 of the 226 California stations used on this site (65%). Stateline, NV, 7 miles northeast, has its own station (Dagget Pass, NV): 21.9 inches a year, 1.3 more than here, and a July average high of 75°F against 80°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 43 | 18 | 2.8 | 5 |
| Feb | 43 | 19 | 3.8 | 6 |
| Mar | 48 | 24 | 2.9 | 6 |
| Apr | 53 | 28 | 1.3 | 4 |
| May | 62 | 33 | 1.3 | 4 |
| Jun | 72 | 38 | 0.6 | 1 |
| Jul | 80 | 43 | 0.4 | 1 |
| Aug | 80 | 41 | 0.4 | 1 |
| Sep | 73 | 35 | 0.3 | 1 |
| Oct | 62 | 29 | 1.4 | 3 |
| Nov | 51 | 23 | 1.9 | 4 |
| Dec | 43 | 18 | 3.5 | 6 |
| Year | 59 | 29 | 20.6 | 40 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at South Lake Tahoe Airport, CA (6,314 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 South Lake Tahoe
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 70 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of South Lake Tahoe: 60 heavy rain events, 7 floods and 3 thunderstorm wind reports. They killed 8 people and injured 0, and the NWS estimated $3.0 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 78 mph, on June 27, 2015.
June 21, 2025: thunderstorm wind 6 miles from the centre of South Lake Tahoe — 8 killed.
NWS: “Buoy data on Lake Tahoe indicated a northerly wind gust of 45 mph from nearby showers and collapsing thunderstorms. This caused significant waves on Lake Tahoe, with multiple boats damaged and one boat capsized near Emerald Bay, causing 8 fatalities out of the 10 on board.”
December 31, 2005: flood 3 miles from the centre of South Lake Tahoe — $1.0 million damage.
NWS: “Localized flooding was reported in areas south of Lake Tahoe. Sierra Pacific Power Company reported that at least eight power poles were knocked down, most likely due to the saturated ground.”
February 8, 2017: flood 5 miles from the centre of South Lake Tahoe — $1.0 million damage.
NWS: “Heavy rain fell in areas with significant snow berms and blocked storm drains, resulting in substantial flooding to around 50 homes in the Meyers area. Some of the worst flood damage was seen on Nahane Dr and Wailaki St per a KCRA news article.”
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 South Lake Tahoe's ZIP code 96150 have filed 68 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1982, and were paid $1.0 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Flooding in 1997: 24 claims (35% of all) and $108,000. 53% 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, 277 have fewer than South Lake Tahoe.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Flooding1997 | 24 | $108,000 |
El Dorado County, which includes South Lake Tahoe, has been named in 27 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1964, 16 of them major disasters (by incident: 8 floods, 8 severe storms, 7 fires, 2 biological emergencies). 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 El Dorado County a Relatively Moderate rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for inland flooding and lightning; Relatively Low for strong wind and heat waves; Very Low for tornadoes and hail. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $124.3 million a year, the 34th highest of 58 California counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $55.9 million (45%), 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 South Lake Tahoe
- Stateline, NV7 mi
- Gardnerville, NV15 mi
- Minden, NV15 mi
- Tahoe City, CA20 mi
- Carson City, NV22 mi
- Kings Beach, CA23 mi
- Incline Village, NV23 mi
- Washoe Valley, NV28 mi
- Pollock Pines, CA30 mi
- Truckee, CA32 mi
- Pioneer, CA34 mi
- Dayton, NV36 mi
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