NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Willows, 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 Willows, California since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 20 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 0 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 20
- 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 Willows
The strongest of the 20 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F2 on May 19, 1953; its path came within 17 miles. Of the 20, 2 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 15 have come since 2000. March has had the most tornadoes, 6. The most recent tornado was on April 25, 2021. Willows has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 64% of the 705 California cities on this site. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 2 times since 2009, with stones up to 0.88 inches (nickel size). Of the 705 California cities, 57% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Willows.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Willows
By decade
- 2020s1
- 2010s10
- 2000s4
- 1990s2
- 1980s1
- 1970s1
- 1950s1
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 19, 1953 | F2 | 17 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 26, 2014 | EF1 | 6 mi | 0.58 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 26, 2014 | EF1 | 8 mi | 0.95 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 26, 2014 | EF1 | 9 mi | 0.7 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 25, 2011 | EF1 | 2 mi | 26.37 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 25, 2011 | EF1 | 9 mi | 21.65 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 17, 1993 | F1 | 5 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 28, 1970 | F1 | 24 mi | 2.3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 25, 2021 | EF0 | 22 mi | 2.02 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Feb 2, 2019 | EF0 | 15 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Feb 19, 2013 | EF0 | 18 mi | 0.26 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 23, 2011 | EF0 | 24 mi | 1.09 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 20, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Willows
The Storm Prediction Center has 2 hail reports within 10 miles of Willows since 2009. None of them reached 1 inch. The largest size, 0.88 inches (nickel size), was reported on 2 days, most recently March 23, 2023. The most recent report is from March 23, 2023.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Willows
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Willows 6 W, CA, 5 miles west of Willows at 234 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 95°F and low of 63°F; December is the coolest, at 58°F and 39°F. January is the wettest at 4.4 inches of precipitation on average and July the driest at 0.0 inches; the year adds up to 22.0 inches. Highs reach 90°F on about 99 days a year, almost all from April to October. Lows fall below freezing on about 23 nights a year. That 22.0 inches is more than at 152 of the 226 California stations used on this site (67%). Orland, 18 miles north, has its own station (Orland, CA): 21.3 inches a year, 0.7 less than here, and a July average high of 94°F against 95°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 58 | 40 | 4.4 |
| Feb | 63 | 42 | 4.2 |
| Mar | 68 | 44 | 2.8 |
| Apr | 75 | 47 | 1.5 |
| May | 83 | 54 | 1.2 |
| Jun | 90 | 60 | 0.5 |
| Jul | 95 | 63 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 94 | 61 | 0.1 |
| Sep | 91 | 58 | 0.2 |
| Oct | 82 | 53 | 1.1 |
| Nov | 67 | 44 | 2.4 |
| Dec | 58 | 39 | 3.6 |
| Year | 77 | 50 | 22.0 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Willows 6 W, CA (234 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 Willows
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 11 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Willows: 11 floods. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $395,000 in property and crop damage.
February 4, 2024: flood 2 miles from the centre of Willows — $395,000 damage.
NWS: “Glenn County OES reported the closure of Willows-Glenn County Airport taxiway and runway due to flooding and debris, with damage to the shoulder. Damage, culvert failure, and temporary closure of multiple county roads.”
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 Willows's ZIP code 95988 have filed 144 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1980, and were paid $1.6 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Pineapple Express - Southern in 1998: 82 claims (57% of all) and $979,000, then Flooding in 1995 with 34. 83% 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, 347 have fewer than Willows.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Pineapple Express - Southern1998 | 82 | $979,000 |
| Flooding1995 | 34 | $223,000 |
Glenn County, which includes Willows, has been named in 21 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1964, 16 of them major disasters (by incident: 8 floods, 7 severe storms, 2 biological emergencies, 1 coastal storm). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Winter Storms, Tornadoes, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides, on April 13, 2024. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Glenn County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Low for inland flooding and heat waves; Very Low for tornadoes, hail, strong wind and lightning. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $40.9 million a year, the 48th highest of 58 California counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $6.5 million (16%), 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 Willows
- Orland, CA18 mi
- Colusa, CA19 mi
- Hamilton City, CA19 mi
- Durham, CA24 mi
- Williams, CA25 mi
- Chico, CA26 mi
- Biggs, CA27 mi
- Gridley, CA28 mi
- Corning, CA29 mi
- Live Oak, CA32 mi
- Sutter, CA33 mi
- Oroville, CA36 mi
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