Modoc County, California severe weather history spans 34 recorded events between 1958 and 2025. The dominant hazard is flood, accounting for 23.5% of all recorded events. It ranks #3,103 nationally and #56 in California.
34
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
0
Direct injuries
$1.0M
Property damage
The record
What the Modoc County, California severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Modoc County, California severe weather history averages 0.5 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 17 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 4 events fall before 1990 and 30 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The costliest is flood, with $1.0M in reported property damage. In total, 6 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Modoc County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flood | 8 | 0 | $1.0M | 0 | 1998–2025 |
| Hail | 7 | 0 | $0 | 2 | 1958–2003 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 7 | 0 | $36K | 70 | 1999–2015 |
| Heavy Rain | 7 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2018–2025 |
| Flash Flood | 4 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2004–2019 |
| Lightning | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2003–2003 |
Decade by decade
Modoc County, California severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
1 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 0 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1958-05-22 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 2.7 mi | Crossed in |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Nearly two days of heavy rain, with amounts of around 1.50 to 2.50 inches, combined with snow melt caused the Pit River near Canby to rise to a peak above major flood stage. This was the fourth highest peak since records began in 1904, and the highest peak in the past 28 years. The river rose above minor flood stage of 8.5 ft. at 03/1445 PST, peaked in major flood stage at 04/2330 PST at 11.13 ft. It then fell slowly, dropping below minor flood stage at 08/0130 PST.
The Modoc County Record reported that strong winds came down from Cedar Pass and snapped a 30-inch and a 16-inch diameter tree near Cedarville. A building on one ranch had a 20 foot by 34 foot piece of roof blown off. Large farm equipment (swather) was pushed and numerous 110 pound bales of hay were rolled or knocked over in the winds.|The highest measured gust was 55 mph at the Surprise Valley RAWS.
COOPs observers and Mesonet/ASOS sites reported rainfall amounts ranging from 0.3-1.0 in the far NE corner of Modoc county in and around Fort Bidwell, CA, as well as 1.0 -2.0 within the area from Cedarville, CA to Lake City, CA.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Very Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
8,600
Population (ACS)
$225K
Median home value
17
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 3, 2023 | Severe Storm | SEVERE WINTER STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES, AND MUDSLIDES | DR |
| Mar 22, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR |
| Mar 13, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 | EM |
| May 1, 2019 | Severe Storm | SEVERE WINTER STORMS, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES, AND MUDSLIDES | DR |
| Apr 1, 2017 | Flood | SEVERE WINTER STORMS, FLOODING, AND MUDSLIDES | DR |
| Mar 16, 2017 | Flood | SEVERE WINTER STORMS, FLOODING, AND MUDSLIDES | DR |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Modoc County, California?
34 events are on record between 1958 and 2025, causing 0 direct deaths and $1.0M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Modoc County?
Flood, with 8 recorded events — 23.5% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Modoc County?
1 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 0 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Modoc County?
17 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Modoc County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Modoc County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Modoc County as very low risk, placing it in the 40 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Modoc 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
- Merced County 249
- Mono County 135
- Mendocino County 140
- Monterey County 245
- Mariposa County 251
- Napa County 93
Cite this page
“Modoc County, California.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/california/modoc-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.