NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Vandenberg Afb, 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 Vandenberg Afb, California since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 3 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 0 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 3
- 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 Vandenberg Afb
The highest rating among the 3 tornadoes within 25 miles is F0, reached 3 times; the most recent, on March 29, 2006, came within 9 miles. Of the 705 California cities on this site, 87% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Vandenberg Afb. Hail has been reported within 10 miles once, in 1992, with stones of 0.75 inches (penny size). Of the 705 California cities, 72% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Vandenberg Afb.
Compare Vandenberg Afb's storm record with another city →
Tornadoes within 25 miles of Vandenberg Afb
By decade
- 2000s2
- 1990s1
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 29, 2006 | F0 | 9 mi | — | 0 / 0 |
| Nov 29, 2001 | F0 | 16 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Dec 29, 1991 | F0 | 15 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 2 |
The strongest 3 of 3, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Vandenberg Afb
The Storm Prediction Center has one hail report within 10 miles of Vandenberg Afb, from February 13, 1992: 0.75 inches (penny size).
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Vandenberg Afb
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Lompoc, CA, 7 miles southeast of Vandenberg Afb at 75 feet. September is the warmest, with an average high of 75°F and low of 55°F; December is the coolest, at 63°F and 42°F. February is the wettest at 3.7 inches of precipitation on average and July and August the driest at 0.0 inches; the year adds up to 15.5 inches over 28 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 5 days a year, almost all from September to October. Lows fall below freezing on about 4 nights a year. That 15.5 inches is more than at 107 of the 226 California stations used on this site (47%). Santa Maria, 14 miles northeast, has its own station (Santa Maria Public Airport, CA): 13.4 inches a year, 2.1 less than here, and the same September average high, 75°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 65 | 43 | 3.3 | 5 |
| Feb | 65 | 44 | 3.7 | 6 |
| Mar | 67 | 46 | 2.8 | 5 |
| Apr | 68 | 47 | 0.9 | 2 |
| May | 69 | 51 | 0.3 | 1 |
| Jun | 71 | 53 | 0.1 | 0 |
| Jul | 73 | 56 | 0.0 | 0 |
| Aug | 73 | 56 | 0.0 | 0 |
| Sep | 75 | 55 | 0.1 | 0 |
| Oct | 74 | 51 | 0.7 | 1 |
| Nov | 70 | 46 | 1.2 | 3 |
| Dec | 63 | 42 | 2.4 | 5 |
| Year | 69 | 49 | 15.5 | 28 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Lompoc, CA (75 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 Vandenberg Afb
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 9 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Vandenberg Afb: 7 flash floods and 2 thunderstorm wind reports. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 64 mph, on February 18, 2011. February has had the most flash floods, 4 of 7. Of the 550 California cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 226 have had fewer than Vandenberg Afb.
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
Santa Barbara County, which includes Vandenberg Afb, has been named in 43 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1969, 27 of them major disasters (by incident: 15 fires, 13 floods, 7 severe storms, 2 biological emergencies). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Winter Storms, Tornadoes, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides, on April 13, 2024. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Santa Barbara County a Relatively High rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for inland flooding; Relatively Low for coastal flooding, lightning and heat waves; Very Low for tornadoes, hail and strong wind. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $477.3 million a year, the 14th highest of 58 California counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $166.8 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 Vandenberg Afb
- Lompoc, CA8 mi
- Santa Maria, CA14 mi
- Guadalupe, CA16 mi
- Buellton, CA21 mi
- Nipomo, CA21 mi
- Solvang, CA24 mi
- Oceano, CA25 mi
- Arroyo Grande, CA27 mi
- Grover Beach, CA27 mi
- Santa Ynez, CA28 mi
- Pismo Beach, CA30 mi
- San Luis Obispo, CA38 mi
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