Kern County, California severe weather history spans 832 recorded events between 1960 and 2026. The dominant hazard is flood, accounting for 39.1% of all recorded events. It ranks #264 nationally and #4 in California.
832
Recorded events
2
Direct deaths
11
Direct injuries
$62.3M
Property damage
The record
What the Kern County, California severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Kern County, California severe weather history averages 12.6 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 325 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 6 events fall before 1990 and 826 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Kern County, California record is heavy rain, responsible for 1 direct deaths. The costliest is flood, with $20.7M in reported property damage. In total, 11 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Kern County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flood | 325 | 0 | $20.7M | 0 | 1997–2026 |
| Flash Flood | 134 | 0 | $8.0M | 0 | 1997–2025 |
| Heavy Rain | 111 | 1 | $14.9M | 0.99 | 1997–2024 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 57 | 0 | $691K | 72 | 1960–2024 |
| Debris Flow | 51 | 0 | $152K | 0 | 2016–2024 |
| Hail | 41 | 0 | $35K | 1.75 | 1982–2023 |
| Lightning | 41 | 1 | $355K | 0 | 1997–2022 |
| Wildfire | 27 | 0 | $17.0M | 3430 | 1997–2003 |
| Funnel Cloud | 23 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1998–2025 |
| Tornado | 16 | 0 | $447K | F1 | 1988–2019 |
| High Wind | 6 | 0 | $25K | 55 | 2000–2002 |
Decade by decade
Kern County, California severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
16 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 16 touched down inside it and 0 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1991-03-17 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 2019-04-16 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 1.6 mi | Touched down here |
| 2019-06-02 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 2015-02-23 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 2013-05-06 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.4 mi | Touched down here |
| 2010-02-27 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 2007-09-01 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 13.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1999-04-03 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1997-02-17 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 1997-03-22 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.2 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Kern County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 19, 2015 | Lightning | GREENFIELD | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| Dec 6, 1997 | Heavy Rain | LEBEC | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| Sep 4, 1997 | Flash Flood | CANTIL | 0 | 4 | $5.0M |
| Jun 22, 2022 | Lightning | RIDGECREST | 0 | 1 | $0 |
| Sep 11, 2011 | Lightning | RIDGECREST | 0 | 1 | $0 |
| Sep 11, 2011 | Lightning | RIDGECREST | 0 | 1 | $0 |
| Jun 3, 2009 | Lightning | KERNVALE | 0 | 1 | $0 |
| Aug 31, 1998 | Wildfire | LAKE ISABELLA | 0 | 1 | $1.0M |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
At 1235 PST on the 19th local officials reported widespread flooding on many city streets in Bakersfield and around Kern County. At 1205 PST on the 20th the CHP reported large rock slides on CA Highway 178 have closed the Kern Canyon Road that connects Bakersfield and Lake Isabella. At 1600 PST on the 20th Local officials reported the city drainage infrastructure in Bakersfield was overwhelmed and backing up in some areas. Several city streets were flooded and closed with deep water.
A thunderstorm measured at 69 dBz moved from southwest to northeast up the El Paso Mountains in East Kern County on the evening of Wednesday, Sept 3rd. Reports indicated that 4.50" of rain fell from this storm in a little over an hour's time. The resulting flash flood through Red Rock Canyon State Park brought 28,000 CFS down through the park, across State Highway 14 and the Redrock-Randsburg Road, and on into Koehn Dry Lake. Nearly 100 motorists were stranded by the flooding with 4 cars swept into the water. Reports indicated that a 12-foot wall of water swept over Highway 14 at 7:10 PM PDT and subsequently over Redrock-Randsburg Road at 7:17 PM PDT. The number of injuries was estimated based on initial reports…no fatalities.
The Deer Fire was man-caused, was pushed by the typically strong up-valley southwest wind through the Kern River Canyon, and burned 1800 acres. The cost to contain the fire was $1.3M. However there were 47 primary residences, 1 commercial building, and 46 out-buildings lost due to this fire with an estimated value of $2.5M. There were no fatalities.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively High
FEMA NRI risk rating
915,075
Population (ACS)
$338K
Median home value
40
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 27, 2024 | Fire | BOREL FIRE | FM |
| Nov 21, 2023 | Hurricane | TROPICAL STORM HILARY | 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 |
| Aug 25, 2021 | Fire | FRENCH FIRE | FM |
| Mar 22, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR |
Within the county
Most affected places
- Democrat Spgs 102
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Kern County, California?
832 events are on record between 1960 and 2026, causing 2 direct deaths and $62.3M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Kern County?
Flood, with 325 recorded events — 39.1% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Kern County?
16 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 16 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Kern County?
40 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Kern County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Kern County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Kern County as relatively high risk, placing it in the 99 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Kern 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
- Inyo County 302
- Kings County 157
- Imperial County 257
- Lake County 53
- Humboldt County 239
- Lassen County 112
Cite this page
“Kern County, California.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/california/kern-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.