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NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database

Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Winnetka, 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 Winnetka, California since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 19 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 0 of them rated EF3 or stronger.

Hurricanes
0

within 75 mi, since 1851

Tropical storms
0

below hurricane strength

Tornadoes
19

within 25 mi, since 1950

EF3 or stronger
0

no recorded deaths

What the records show for Winnetka

The highest rating among the 19 tornadoes within 25 miles is F2, reached 2 times; the most recent, on March 1, 1983, came within 17 miles. Of the 19, one had a path within 5 miles of the city centre, and 2 have come since 2000. November and December have had the most tornadoes, 4 each. The most recent tornado was on December 12, 2014. Winnetka has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 62% of the 705 California cities on this site. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 5 times since 1993, with stones up to 1 inch (quarter size). Winnetka has more hail reports within 10 miles than 62% of the 705 California cities.

Compare Winnetka's storm record with another city →

Tornadoes within 25 miles of Winnetka

By decade

  • 2010s1
  • 2000s1
  • 1990s5
  • 1980s5
  • 1970s2
  • 1960s2
  • 1950s3
Strongest tornadoes near Winnetka, California
DateRatingDistancePathKilled / injured
Mar 1, 1983F217 mi3.5 mi0 / 30
Nov 9, 1982F28 mi1 mi0 / 0
Mar 20, 1992F124 mi0.2 mi0 / 0
Oct 1, 1983F124 mi0.3 mi0 / 3
Nov 9, 1982F114 mi0.2 mi0 / 0
Jan 31, 1979F112 mi0.1 mi0 / 0
Nov 9, 1964F121 mi1 mi0 / 0
Jan 18, 1955F119 mi3 mi0 / 0
Dec 12, 2014EF023 mi0.73 mi0 / 0
Dec 29, 2004F023 mi0.5 mi0 / 0
Apr 1, 1999F03 mi0.1 mi0 / 0
Feb 7, 1994F013 mi0.1 mi0 / 0

The strongest 12 of 19, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.

Hail in Winnetka

The Storm Prediction Center has 5 hail reports within 10 miles of Winnetka since 1993. Of these, 3 were 1 inch across or larger, and none reached 2 inches. The largest size, 1 inch (quarter size), was reported on 3 days, most recently March 7, 2024. The most recent report is from March 7, 2024.

Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.

Weather by month in Winnetka

The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Woodland Hills Pierce College, CA, 2 miles south of Winnetka at 790 feet. August is the warmest, with an average high of 97°F and low of 61°F; December is the coolest, at 69°F and 42°F. February is the wettest at 4.6 inches of precipitation on average and July and August the driest at 0.0 inches; the year adds up to 16.5 inches over 22 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 115 days a year, almost all from March to November. Lows fall below freezing on about 11 nights a year. That 16.5 inches is more than at 117 of the 226 California stations used on this site (52%). Northridge, 3 miles east, has its own station (Northridge Cal State, CA): 14.7 inches a year, 1.8 less than here, and an August average high of 92°F against 97°F.

Water temperature at the NOAA tide station Santa Monica, CA, 15 miles south, averaged 69°F in August and 58°F in January and March over 2021–2025. No month averaged 80°F. Sea level at the Santa Monica tide gauge, 15 miles from Winnetka, has risen 0.60 ± 0.06 inches per decade from 1933 to 2025, NOAA's linear trend; at that pace it is 6.0 inches in a hundred years. That is faster than at 28 of the 144 U.S. gauges with a NOAA trend.

Monthly climate normals 1991–2020 at Woodland Hills Pierce College, CA
MonthHigh °FLow °FPrecip. inDays ≥ 0.1"Water °F
Jan70433.7558
Feb70444.6558
Mar74462.7458
Apr78480.8159
May82530.4162
Jun89570.1066
Jul95610.0068
Aug97610.0069
Sep94590.1069
Oct85530.6165
Nov76460.8262
Dec69422.7360
Year825116.52263

Averages for 1991–2020 at Woodland Hills Pierce College, CA (790 ft), from NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals; water temperature: average of hourly readings 2021–2025 at the NOAA tide station Santa Monica, CA, from NOAA Tides & Currents. Normals describe the station; the farther a place is from it, and the bigger the difference in height, the more its weather can differ.

California weather by month, station by station →

Floods, thunderstorm wind and lightning near Winnetka

Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 28 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Winnetka: 17 flash floods, 8 thunderstorm wind reports, 2 floods and 1 heavy rain event. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $2,000 in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 71 mph, on February 7, 2024. February has had the most flash floods, 9 of 17. Of the 550 California cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 418 have had fewer than Winnetka.

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

Los Angeles County, which includes Winnetka, has been named in 88 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1969, 35 of them major disasters (by incident: 61 fires, 10 floods, 8 severe storms, 3 earthquakes). The latest major disaster declaration was Wildfires and Straight-Line Winds, on January 8, 2025. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Los Angeles County a Very High rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Very High for inland flooding and lightning; Relatively High for tornadoes, coastal flooding and heat waves; Relatively Moderate for hail and strong wind. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $7.60 billion a year, the highest of 58 California counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $2.81 billion (37%), 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 Winnetka