NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Thermal, 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 Thermal, California since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 4 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 1 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 4
- EF3 or stronger
- 1
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
no recorded deaths
What the records show for Thermal
The strongest of the 4 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F3 on February 9, 1978; its path came within 22 miles. The most recent tornado was on August 6, 2015. Of the 705 California cities on this site, 83% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Thermal.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Thermal
By decade
- 2010s1
- 1990s1
- 1980s1
- 1970s1(1 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 9, 1978 | F3 | 22 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 6 |
| Aug 6, 2015 | EF1 | 7 mi | 3.98 mi | 0 / 2 |
| May 20, 1997 | F0 | 19 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 18, 1985 | F0 | 9 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 Thermal
The Storm Prediction Center has no hail reports within 10 miles of Thermal since 1955.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Thermal
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Mecca Fire Stn, CA, 7 miles north of Thermal. July is the warmest, with an average high of 107°F and low of 80°F; December is the coolest, at 69°F and 42°F. January and February are the wettest at 0.6 inches of precipitation on average and May and June the driest at 0.0 inches; the year adds up to 3.1 inches over 7 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 195 days a year, almost all from February to November. Lows fall below freezing on about 8 nights a year. That 3.1 inches is more than at 3 of the 226 California stations used on this site (1%). Coachella, 16 miles northwest, has its own station (Indio Fire Stn, CA): 3.1 inches a year, the same as here, and a July average high of 106°F against 107°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 70 | 44 | 0.6 | 2 |
| Feb | 74 | 47 | 0.6 | 1 |
| Mar | 81 | 54 | 0.3 | 1 |
| Apr | 87 | 59 | 0.2 | 0 |
| May | 95 | 66 | 0.0 | 0 |
| Jun | 103 | 72 | 0.0 | 0 |
| Jul | 107 | 80 | 0.2 | 0 |
| Aug | 106 | 80 | 0.1 | 0 |
| Sep | 102 | 74 | 0.3 | 1 |
| Oct | 91 | 62 | 0.2 | 1 |
| Nov | 78 | 50 | 0.2 | 1 |
| Dec | 69 | 42 | 0.4 | 1 |
| Year | 88 | 61 | 3.1 | 7 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Mecca Fire Stn, CA, 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 Thermal
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 29 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Thermal: 16 flash floods, 6 thunderstorm wind reports, 4 floods and 3 heavy rain events. They killed 0 people and injured 1, and the NWS estimated $10.6 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 69 mph, on July 23, 2019. September has had the most flash floods, 9 of 16. Of the 550 California cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 400 have had fewer than Thermal.
September 30, 2018: flash flood 9 miles from the centre of Thermal — 1 injured, $200,000 damage.
July 23, 2019: thunderstorm wind 9 miles from the centre of Thermal — $8.0 million damage.
September 11, 2012: flash flood 7 miles from the centre of Thermal — $2.0 million damage.
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 Thermal's ZIP code 92274 have filed 33 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1978, and were paid $172,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The year with the most claims was 1980, with 14. 9% 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, 167 have fewer than Thermal.
Riverside County, which includes Thermal, has been named in 66 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1965, 31 of them major disasters (by incident: 38 fires, 13 floods, 7 severe storms, 2 biological emergencies). The latest major disaster declaration was Tropical Storm Hilary, on November 21, 2023. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Riverside County a Very High rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Very High for inland flooding; Relatively High for heat waves; Relatively Moderate for tornadoes, hail, strong wind and lightning; Very Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $2.27 billion a year, the 2nd highest of 58 California counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $1.13 billion (50%), 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 Thermal
- Mecca, CA7 mi
- Coachella, CA16 mi
- La Quinta, CA20 mi
- Indio, CA21 mi
- Borrego Springs, CA23 mi
- Indian Wells, CA23 mi
- Palm Desert, CA25 mi
- Niland, CA28 mi
- Rancho Mirage, CA29 mi
- Thousand Palms, CA30 mi
- Cathedral City, CA33 mi
- Anza, CA35 mi
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