Merced County, California severe weather history spans 249 recorded events between 1955 and 2025. The dominant hazard is flood, accounting for 51.0% of all recorded events. It ranks #2,112 nationally and #14 in California.
249
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
8
Direct injuries
$34.5M
Property damage
The record
What the Merced County, California severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Merced County, California severe weather history averages 3.6 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2020s, with 95 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 6 events fall before 1990 and 243 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The costliest is flood, with $20.6M 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 Merced County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flood | 127 | 0 | $20.6M | 0 | 1997–2025 |
| Funnel Cloud | 32 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1998–2025 |
| Heavy Rain | 29 | 0 | $2.0M | 0.69 | 1998–2023 |
| Tornado | 17 | 0 | $810K | F1 | 1955–2009 |
| Hail | 11 | 0 | $30K | 1.75 | 1998–2019 |
| Lightning | 9 | 0 | $1.0M | 0 | 1998–2016 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 8 | 0 | $430K | 80 | 1957–2007 |
| Flash Flood | 6 | 0 | $9.6M | 0 | 1998–2025 |
| Debris Flow | 4 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2018–2024 |
| Wildfire | 4 | 0 | $15K | 2750 | 2001–2003 |
| High Wind | 2 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2001–2002 |
Decade by decade
Merced County, California severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
18 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 18 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002-12-16 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 1996-11-22 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 1978-03-04 | EF1 | 0 | 1 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1967-04-22 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1958-04-01 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2009-02-09 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 2006-03-28 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 2006-03-28 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 2006-03-28 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 2005-04-08 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 1.2 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Merced County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 24, 1998 | Flood | HILMAR | 0 | 6 | $120K |
| Apr 18, 2000 | Lightning | SANTA NELLA | 0 | 1 | $0 |
| Mar 4, 1978 | Tornado | 0 | 1 | $250K |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
The Merced County Emergency Manager reported that several mandatory evacuations took place in Merced County as a result of flooding, The impacted areas included Planada which was completely evacuated as well as portions of Merced. Rainfall amounts in the Merced area were between 2 and 3 inches between noon on January 9 and the early morning of January 10 resulting in several cars being stranded and abandoned in flood waters as SR 99 through Merced and 16th St. in Merced were inundated with flood waters. A Flood Warning was already in place for Bear Creek since January 8 and continued through January 11. Bear Creek overflowed and peaked at a new record crest of 26.2 feet during the morning of January 10. Due to the anticipated severity of this event, resources were deployed to the Merced County EOC during the event with frequent live briefings taking place. In addition the the evacuations the took place in and around Merced, Amtrak cancelled several trains and buses through and into Merced due to the train station being flooded.
The cool season's first significant rain pushed through Central California starting about 1100 PDT in Merced County and through Kern County by 2100 PDT. Merced received 0.75" of rain in embedded frontal thundershowers and locally heavy rain in about 2 hours beginning at 1115 PDT. Some local street flooding was reported just south of Hilmar and within Delhi. In Merced a tree was toppled by the storm. Several traffic accidents occurred on rain-slickened roads. Other rainfall amounts with the fast-moving front were 0.85" at Lemoore; only 0.16" at Fresno; and 0.21" at Bakersfield. While no warnings needed to have been formally issued, the storm's approach and timing were well advertised by NWS Special Weather Statements more than 18 hours in advance and Short Term Forecasts with the front's passage.
Heavy rain caused widespread urban and poor drainage flooding on the morning of the 29th across much of the San Joaquin Valley. Especially hard hit were the metro areas of Fresno, Visalia, and Bakersfield, and the adjacent foothills.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively High
FEMA NRI risk rating
290,201
Population (ACS)
$392K
Median home value
19
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 |
| Mar 22, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR |
| Mar 13, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 | EM |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Merced County, California?
249 events are on record between 1955 and 2025, causing 0 direct deaths and $34.5M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Merced County?
Flood, with 127 recorded events — 51.0% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Merced County?
18 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 Merced County?
19 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Merced County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Merced County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Merced County as relatively high risk, placing it in the 97 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Merced 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
- Mendocino County 140
- Modoc County 34
- Mariposa County 251
- Mono County 135
- Marin County 167
- Monterey County 245
Cite this page
“Merced County, California.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/california/merced-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.