Mendocino County, California severe weather history spans 140 recorded events between 1958 and 2026. The dominant hazard is flood, accounting for 50.0% of all recorded events. It ranks #2,744 nationally and #30 in California.
140
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
0
Direct injuries
$34.9M
Property damage
The record
What the Mendocino County, California severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Mendocino County, California severe weather history averages 2.1 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2020s, with 91 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 6 events fall before 1990 and 134 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The costliest is heavy rain, with $33.4M 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 Mendocino County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flood | 70 | 0 | $1.5M | 0 | 1996–2026 |
| Heavy Rain | 56 | 0 | $33.4M | 0 | 2005–2025 |
| Tornado | 4 | 0 | $3K | F1 | 1958–2023 |
| Hail | 3 | 0 | $0 | 1.5 | 1982–1986 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 2 | 0 | $0 | 52 | 1960–2026 |
| Funnel Cloud | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1998–1998 |
| Flash Flood | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2018–2018 |
| High Wind | 1 | 0 | $1K | 25 | 2024–2024 |
| Waterspout | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2001–2001 |
| Wildfire | 1 | 0 | $0 | 240 | 2003–2003 |
Decade by decade
Mendocino County, California severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
3 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 2 touched down inside it and 1 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1998-12-05 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.7 mi | Crossed in |
| 2023-02-27 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1983-12-11 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 mi | Touched down here |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
The Pudding Creek Dam overtopped resulting in damage to the dam and a primary water main for the city of Fort Bragg. Damage estimates for replacement of the water main have been received but there are currently no estimates for the damage to the dam.
An emergency manager relayed a report of a creek beginning to flood a barn near the Mendocino-Lake County border. The water was black from ash produced by the Mendocino Complex, and the water level was higher than historically observed.
The primary highway along the coast, California Route 1, was closed at the Garcia River due to flooding for nearly 24 hours. The exact time of reopening is not known but it was sometime during the day on the 16th of December.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively High
FEMA NRI risk rating
90,244
Population (ACS)
$512K
Median home value
33
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 |
| Jan 9, 2023 | Flood | SEVERE WINTER STORMS, FLOODING, AND MUDSLIDES | EM |
| Oct 16, 2020 | Fire | WILDFIRES | DR |
| Aug 22, 2020 | Fire | WILDFIRES | DR |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Mendocino County, California?
140 events are on record between 1958 and 2026, causing 0 direct deaths and $34.9M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Mendocino County?
Flood, with 70 recorded events — 50.0% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Mendocino County?
3 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 2 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Mendocino County?
33 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Mendocino County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Mendocino County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Mendocino County as relatively high risk, placing it in the 94 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Mendocino 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
- Mariposa County 251
- Merced County 249
- Marin County 167
- Modoc County 34
- Madera County 207
- Mono County 135
Cite this page
“Mendocino County, California.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/california/mendocino-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.