NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Taft, 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 Taft, California since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 2 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 0 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 2
- 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 Taft
The strongest of the 2 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F1 on March 17, 1991; its path came within 4 miles. The most recent tornado was on February 27, 2010. Of the 705 California cities on this site, 91% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Taft. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 2 times since 2007, with stones up to 1 inch (quarter size). Of the 705 California cities, 57% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Taft.
Compare Taft's storm record with another city →
Tornadoes within 25 miles of Taft
By decade
- 2010s1
- 1990s1
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 17, 1991 | F1 | 4 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Feb 27, 2010 | EF0 | 13 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 2 of 2, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Taft
The Storm Prediction Center has 2 hail reports within 10 miles of Taft since 2007. Of these, one was 1 inch across or larger, and none reached 2 inches. The largest, 1 inch (quarter size), fell on June 10, 2015, the most recent report.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Taft
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Taft, CA, in Taft at 773 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 99°F and low of 68°F; December is the coolest, at 59°F and 41°F. Highs reach 90°F on about 113 days a year, almost all from April to October. Lows fall below freezing on about 7 nights a year. That 6.0 inches is more than at 20 of the 226 California stations used on this site (9%). Shafter, 24 miles north, has its own station (Shafter 6E, CA): 7.8 inches a year, 1.8 more than here, and a July average high of 96°F against 99°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 59 | 41 | 1.1 | 3 |
| Feb | 63 | 44 | 1.2 | 4 |
| Mar | 70 | 48 | 1.0 | 2 |
| Apr | 76 | 50 | 0.6 | 1 |
| May | 84 | 56 | 0.4 | 1 |
| Jun | 93 | 60 | 0.0 | 0 |
| Jul | 99 | 68 | 0.0 | 0 |
| Aug | 98 | 66 | 0.0 | 0 |
| Sep | 92 | 62 | 0.1 | 0 |
| Oct | 81 | 54 | 0.3 | 1 |
| Nov | 67 | 47 | 0.4 | 1 |
| Dec | 59 | 41 | 0.9 | 2 |
| Year | 78 | 53 | 6.0 | 15 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Taft, CA (773 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 Taft
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 18 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Taft: 12 floods, 4 flash floods and 2 heavy rain events. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $1.2 million in property and crop damage.
December 29, 2010: flood 4 miles from the centre of Taft — $1.0 million damage.
NWS: “Heavy rain caused widespread urban and poor drainage flooding on the morning of the 29th across much of the San Joaquin Valley. Especially hard hit were the metro areas of Fresno, Visalia, and Bakersfield, and the adjacent foothills.”
October 6, 2010: flash flood 3 miles from the centre of Taft — $100,000 damage.
NWS: “Sandy Creek flooded and caused a debris flow into the Taft Hills Shopping Plaza. Several businesses were inundated with water, rocks and mud and had to shut down for several hours.”
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
Kern County, which includes Taft, has been named in 40 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1967, 19 of them major disasters (by incident: 17 fires, 7 floods, 6 severe storms, 2 biological emergencies). The latest major disaster declaration was Tropical Storm Hilary, on November 21, 2023. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Kern County a Relatively High rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for inland flooding, lightning and heat waves; Relatively Low for hail and strong wind; Very Low for tornadoes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $417.0 million a year, the 16th highest of 58 California counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $147.2 million (35%), 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 Taft
- Shafter, CA24 mi
- Bakersfield, CA25 mi
- Lamont, CA30 mi
- Wasco, CA31 mi
- Arvin, CA33 mi
- Mc Farland, CA37 mi
- Santa Margarita, CA38 mi
- Delano, CA44 mi
- Lost Hills, CA46 mi
- Richgrove, CA48 mi
- Ojai, CA50 mi
- Tehachapi, CA50 mi
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