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Placer County, California severe weather history spans 168 recorded events between 1957 and 2026. The dominant hazard is heavy rain, accounting for 44.0% of all recorded events. It ranks #2,618 nationally and #25 in California.
168
Recorded events
6
Direct deaths
0
Direct injuries
$8.6M
Property damage
The record
What the Placer County, California severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Placer County, California severe weather history averages 2.4 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 70 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 5 events fall before 1990 and 163 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Placer County, California record is heavy rain, responsible for 3 direct deaths. The costliest is flood, with $8.0M 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 Placer County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Heavy Rain | 74 | 3 | $10K | 0 | 1998–2026 |
| Flood | 51 | 3 | $8.0M | 0 | 2005–2026 |
| Flash Flood | 12 | 0 | $208K | 0 | 1997–2019 |
| Hail | 12 | 0 | $21K | 2 | 1967–2024 |
| Tornado | 6 | 0 | $253K | F1 | 1972–2017 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 5 | 0 | $20K | 52 | 1957–2025 |
| Debris Flow | 4 | 0 | $6K | 0 | 2017–2023 |
| Funnel Cloud | 2 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2017–2020 |
| Lightning | 1 | 0 | $90K | 0 | 2024–2024 |
| Waterspout | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1998–1998 |
Decade by decade
Placer County, California severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
6 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 5 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1983-03-22 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 2017-01-09 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 2014-03-26 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 4.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1990-04-23 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 1983-03-03 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1972-10-15 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Placer County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 24, 2024 | Flood | AUBURN | 2 | 0 | $0 |
| Jan 18, 1998 | Heavy Rain | COUNTYWIDE | 2 | 0 | $0 |
| Jan 2, 2026 | Heavy Rain | CLIPPER GAP | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| Feb 7, 2024 | Flood | LINCOLN MUNI ARPT | 1 | 0 | $0 |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Placer County Sheriff reported a group of three men went to fish in the North American River, north of Folsom Lake on November 23rd. Two of the men, both 20 years old, got into the water. One of them was swept away by the strong currents and the second man tried to help but was also pulled into the current. The recovery operation was extremely technical and in a portion of the river with rapids and strong current due to the storm. Both 20 year old men drowned and their bodies were recovered downstream on November 25th.
There were numerous reports of roadway flooding and rises on small creeks and streams in the area due to heavy rain. A hiker went missing on January 2nd around 2:00 PM. Search and research operations from Placer County to help find the missing individual where underway through the weekend. The hiker's body was recovered Monday afternoon.
California Highway Patrol and Placer County OES reported a fatality of a driver that drove through standing water on a flooded road, lost control, and flipped the vehicle, coming to a rest in standing water on Nicolaus Road near Marcum Road.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Moderate
FEMA NRI risk rating
419,156
Population (ACS)
$688K
Median home value
26
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 |
| Sep 9, 2022 | Fire | MOSQUITO FIRE | FM |
| Sep 1, 2021 | Fire | CALDOR FIRE | EM |
| Aug 24, 2021 | Fire | WILDFIRES | DR |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Placer County, California?
168 events are on record between 1957 and 2026, causing 6 direct deaths and $8.6M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Placer County?
Heavy Rain, with 74 recorded events — 44.0% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Placer County?
6 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 Placer County?
26 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Placer County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Placer County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Placer County as relatively moderate risk, placing it in the 93 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Placer 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
- Orange County 393
- Plumas County 120
- Nevada County 126
- Riverside County 930
- Napa County 93
- Sacramento County 246
Cite this page
“Placer County, California.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/california/placer-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.