San Diego County, California severe weather history spans 1,117 recorded events between 1955 and 2026. The dominant hazard is flash flood, accounting for 22.9% of all recorded events. It ranks #98 nationally and #2 in California.
1,117
Recorded events
49
Direct deaths
414
Direct injuries
$1.3B
Property damage
The record
What the San Diego County, California severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, San Diego County, California severe weather history averages 15.7 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 373 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 19 events fall before 1990 and 1,098 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the San Diego County, California record is wildfire, responsible for 18 direct deaths. The costliest is wildfire, with $1.2B in reported property damage. In total, 16 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in San Diego County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | 256 | 5 | $51.6M | 0 | 1998–2025 |
| Flood | 238 | 5 | $8.8M | 0 | 1997–2026 |
| Heavy Rain | 140 | 3 | $46.5M | 2.3 | 1997–2026 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 118 | 5 | $7.2M | 64 | 1955–2026 |
| Wildfire | 105 | 18 | $1.2B | 45 | 1996–2023 |
| Funnel Cloud | 58 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1996–2021 |
| Hail | 52 | 0 | $72K | 1.75 | 1958–2024 |
| Lightning | 43 | 1 | $183K | 0 | 1997–2023 |
| Debris Flow | 30 | 0 | $2.1M | 0 | 2012–2024 |
| Tornado | 27 | 0 | $1.1M | F1 | 1956–2019 |
| Rip Current | 23 | 12 | $80K | 0 | 1996–2004 |
| Waterspout | 13 | 0 | $0 | 61 | 1997–2001 |
| Storm Surge/Tide | 7 | 0 | $864K | 0 | 1998–2002 |
| High Surf | 3 | 0 | $10K | 0 | 1999–2000 |
| Dust Devil | 2 | 0 | $100 | 0 | 1996–2004 |
| Strong Wind | 2 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1997–1998 |
Decade by decade
San Diego County, California severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
24 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 23 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000-11-10 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.4 mi | Touched down here |
| 1991-03-19 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1991-03-27 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 1980-02-20 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1978-12-18 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.8 mi | Touched down here |
| 1961-10-08 | EF1 | 0 | 3 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1956-04-13 | EF1 | 0 | 1 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 2019-04-22 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 2007-09-22 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Crossed in |
| 2006-03-11 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in San Diego County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 26, 2003 | Wildfire | PINE HILLS | 14 | 90 | $1.0B |
| Dec 17, 2002 | Flood | FALLBROOK | 3 | 2 | $60K |
| Mar 22, 2007 | Thunderstorm Wind | LAKE HENSHAW | 3 | 0 | $0 |
| Oct 26, 2003 | Wildfire | VALLEY CENTER | 2 | 18 | $55.2M |
| Jan 22, 2024 | Flash Flood | (SEE)SAN DIEGO GILLE | 2 | 0 | $100K |
| Jan 22, 2017 | Flash Flood | RAINBOW | 2 | 0 | $10K |
| Oct 8, 1999 | Rip Current | LA JOLLA | 1 | 12 | $0 |
| Oct 1, 1999 | Wildfire | RINCON | 1 | 10 | $250K |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Fox5 in San Diego reported that two people, 46 year old female and 48 year old male, were found deceased, drowning in a creek in Santee, near the intersection of Prospect Avenue and Cuyamaca Road. Exactly how and when the deceased were swept into the creek is unknown.
A swift water rescue team pulled a man from a submerged car in a small creek near Old Highway 395 and 5th St. in Rainbow. A young boy, also in the car, was swept down stream before rescuers arrived. The boys body was recovered on the 26th.
This fire began on September 30 and wasn't fully contained until October 8. A total of 7,691 acres, one house, two trailers, and an out building were burned or destroyed. Campers and counselors at Camp Denver C. Fox and residents in Will Valley were evacuated. Ten fire fighters sustained minor injuries, and another died when a boulder dislodged by the fire struck him. The cost of fighting the fire was near $3 million.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Very High
FEMA NRI risk rating
3,288,774
Population (ACS)
$855K
Median home value
51
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 19, 2024 | Flood | SEVERE STORM AND FLOODING | DR |
| 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 |
| 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 San Diego County, California?
1,117 events are on record between 1955 and 2026, causing 49 direct deaths and $1.3B in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in San Diego County?
Flash Flood, with 256 recorded events — 22.9% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed San Diego County?
24 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 23 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover San Diego County?
51 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include San Diego County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is San Diego County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates San Diego County as very high risk, placing it in the 100 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the San Diego 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
- San Bernardino County 1,642
- San Francisco County 135
- San Benito County 38
- San Joaquin County 116
- Sacramento County 246
- San Luis Obispo County 83
Cite this page
“San Diego County, California.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/california/san-diego-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.