Butte County, California severe weather history spans 179 recorded events between 1970 and 2026. The dominant hazard is flood, accounting for 49.7% of all recorded events. It ranks #2,557 nationally and #23 in California.
179
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
11
Direct injuries
$573.1M
Property damage
The record
What the Butte County, California severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Butte County, California severe weather history averages 3.2 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 79 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 9 events fall before 1990 and 170 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The costliest is flood, with $552.1M in reported property damage. In total, 10 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Butte County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flood | 89 | 0 | $552.1M | 0 | 1997–2026 |
| Heavy Rain | 26 | 0 | $6K | 0 | 1998–2023 |
| Tornado | 18 | 0 | $8.2M | F2 | 1970–2023 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 12 | 0 | $5.0M | 78 | 1978–2023 |
| Hail | 11 | 0 | $1K | 1 | 1986–2023 |
| Flash Flood | 9 | 0 | $715K | 0 | 1997–2020 |
| Debris Flow | 5 | 0 | $4.5M | 0 | 2017–2019 |
| Lightning | 4 | 0 | $136K | 0 | 2007–2019 |
| Wildfire | 4 | 0 | $2.4M | 0 | 1999–2000 |
| Funnel Cloud | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2019–2019 |
Decade by decade
Butte County, California severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
20 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 18 touched down inside it and 2 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011-05-25 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 1994-02-10 | EF2 | 0 | 2 | 0.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 2023-12-19 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.4 mi | Touched down here |
| 2011-05-25 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 26.4 mi | Crossed in |
| 2011-05-25 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 21.7 mi | Crossed in |
| 2005-01-08 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1993-01-07 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1992-12-17 | EF1 | 0 | 4 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1978-03-23 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1978-03-04 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.5 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Butte County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 15, 1999 | Wildfire | OROVILLE | 0 | 5 | $480K |
| Dec 18, 1992 | Tornado | 0 | 4 | $2.5M | |
| Feb 10, 1994 | Tornado | Oroville | 0 | 2 | $5.0M |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
A mass evacuation of over 180000 people located downstream of Oroville Dam was ordered for a possible flash flood, due to the projected near failure of the emergency spillway. The emergency spillway was used when the main spillway was discovered to have suffered severe erosion during releases back on and around February 7th. Releases from Lake Oroville had been increased due to rising lake levels due to inflow from heavy rains.||A presidential disaster declaration provided $274 million for emergency response costs from Feb. 7 though the end of May. The money targeted stabilizing the emergency and main spillways, as well as debris removal and work on the downed Hyatt Powerplant. A bid for long term repairs to the spillway was accepted at $275 million. Together, these total $549 million, though final costs could be much higher.
A tornado formed behind a cold front and traveled through a housing subdivision in Oroville. A total of 47 homes were damaged. One home was destroyed while 25 others suffered major damage. The funnel of the tornado was spotted by many residents and several descibed a "noise like a freight train". A full sized motorhome was toppled and pushed forward several feet.
The media shared a wind damage report from the public which included images and videos. A hay barn and horse stable had pole and roof damage that can clearly be seen in the footage. The RAWS weather station at OpenShaw, which is close to the damage site, reported a 50 mph wind gust.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Moderate
FEMA NRI risk rating
207,929
Population (ACS)
$425K
Median home value
39
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 25, 2024 | Fire | PARK FIRE | FM |
| Jul 2, 2024 | Fire | THOMPSON FIRE | FM |
| Apr 13, 2024 | Severe Storm | SEVERE WINTER STORMS, TORNADOES, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES, AND MUDSLIDES | DR |
| Apr 3, 2023 | Severe Storm | SEVERE WINTER STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES, AND MUDSLIDES | DR |
| Mar 10, 2023 | Flood | SEVERE WINTER STORMS, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES, AND MUDSLIDES | EM |
| Jan 14, 2023 | Flood | SEVERE WINTER STORMS, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES, AND MUDSLIDES | DR |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Butte County, California?
179 events are on record between 1970 and 2026, causing 0 direct deaths and $573.1M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Butte County?
Flood, with 89 recorded events — 49.7% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Butte County?
20 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 18 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Butte County?
39 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Butte County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Butte County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Butte County as relatively moderate risk, placing it in the 94 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Butte County, California severe weather history data come from?
Every figure is drawn from United States federal public-domain records: NOAA/NCEI Storm Events for the event archive, NOAA SPC SVRGIS for mapped tornado paths, FEMA for disaster declarations and risk ratings, and the U.S. Census for population context. Dates are shown in UTC and recent entries may still be revised by NOAA.
Nearby
Neighbouring counties
- Amador County 29
- Calaveras County 47
- Alpine County 44
- Colusa County 35
- Alameda County 241
- Contra Costa County 108
Cite this page
“Butte County, California.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/california/butte-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.