Monterey County, California severe weather history spans 245 recorded events between 1987 and 2026. The dominant hazard is flood, accounting for 49.0% of all recorded events. It ranks #2,137 nationally and #16 in California.
245
Recorded events
1
Direct deaths
8
Direct injuries
$107.0M
Property damage
The record
What the Monterey County, California severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Monterey County, California severe weather history averages 6.3 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2020s, with 106 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 1 events fall before 1990 and 244 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Monterey County, California record is flood, responsible for 1 direct deaths. The costliest is wildfire, with $83.7M 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 Monterey County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flood | 120 | 1 | $1.2M | 0 | 1996–2026 |
| Debris Flow | 32 | 0 | $10.1M | 0 | 2012–2025 |
| Flash Flood | 30 | 0 | $11.4M | 0 | 1997–2024 |
| Hail | 21 | 0 | $70 | 1 | 2001–2023 |
| Heavy Rain | 18 | 0 | $5K | 6.1 | 1996–2026 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 7 | 0 | $10 | 68 | 2020–2025 |
| Tornado | 5 | 0 | $501K | F1 | 1987–2016 |
| Wildfire | 4 | 0 | $83.7M | 0 | 1996–2000 |
| Funnel Cloud | 3 | 0 | $10 | 0 | 2016–2025 |
| Lightning | 3 | 0 | $2K | 0 | 2020–2023 |
| Storm Surge/Tide | 2 | 0 | $100K | 0 | 1999–2001 |
Decade by decade
Monterey County, California severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
5 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 5 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1992-12-06 | EF1 | 0 | 2 | 7.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1992-12-06 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2016-04-22 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 1992-12-11 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1987-04-03 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Monterey County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 13, 2025 | Flood | CARMEL VLY | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| Oct 7, 1996 | Wildfire | CAMBRIA | 0 | 3 | $4.5M |
| Oct 29, 1999 | Storm Surge/Tide | PACIFIC GROVE | 0 | 2 | $0 |
| Dec 7, 1992 | Tornado | 0 | 2 | $250K | |
| Jan 27, 2021 | Debris Flow | SALINAS | 0 | 1 | $0 |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
An elderly man went missing while walking his dog in Garland Ranch Regional Park, and was last heard from around 10:30 AM. Around 11 AM, hikers found his dog and returned it to the man's family, who reported him missing at noon. Monterey County park rangers were assisted by local and state resources in a swift-water search, who ultimately found the man's body in Carmel River.
Heavy winter rain caused a deep rooted debris flow to occur that covered highway 1. This slide has no estimated time for removal and has damage estimates well in to the millions.|http://www.mercurynews.com/2017/05/31/big-sur-coast-has-grown-13-acres-from-new-landslide/. https://www.usnews.com/news/us/articles/2017-05-23/massive-slide-covers-stretch-of-iconic-california-highway.
floods and mudslides water from the persistent rain washed out highway one south of Big Sur that still has not been reopened two months later.The Bolsa knolls area was flooded and water damaged a number of houses and businesses. Houses in Prunedale were flooded with water and mud. Fallen trees were the cause of power outages to around 2,400 people in North Monterey County. Pacific Grove Mifddle School was flooded and evacuated.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively High
FEMA NRI risk rating
437,613
Population (ACS)
$781K
Median home value
33
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 |
| Jan 9, 2023 | Flood | SEVERE WINTER STORMS, FLOODING, AND MUDSLIDES | EM |
| Aug 22, 2020 | Fire | WILDFIRES | DR |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Monterey County, California?
245 events are on record between 1987 and 2026, causing 1 direct deaths and $107.0M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Monterey County?
Flood, with 120 recorded events — 49.0% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Monterey County?
5 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 5 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Monterey County?
33 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Monterey County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Monterey County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Monterey County as relatively high risk, placing it in the 99 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Monterey 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
- Mono County 135
- Napa County 93
- Modoc County 34
- Nevada County 126
- Merced County 249
- Orange County 393
Cite this page
“Monterey County, California.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/california/monterey-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.