San Joaquin County, California severe weather history spans 116 recorded events between 1967 and 2026. The dominant hazard is flood, accounting for 42.2% of all recorded events. It ranks #2,830 nationally and #36 in California.
116
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
4
Direct injuries
$111.1M
Property damage
The record
What the San Joaquin County, California severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, San Joaquin County, California severe weather history averages 2.0 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2020s, with 52 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 10 events fall before 1990 and 106 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The costliest is flood, with $107.1M in reported property damage. In total, 8 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 Joaquin County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flood | 49 | 0 | $107.1M | 0 | 2014–2026 |
| Tornado | 19 | 0 | $146K | F1 | 1967–2022 |
| Heavy Rain | 19 | 0 | $750K | 0 | 1998–2021 |
| Funnel Cloud | 14 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1996–2023 |
| Hail | 5 | 0 | $0 | 1 | 2000–2026 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 4 | 0 | $1.0M | 61 | 1988–2023 |
| Flash Flood | 4 | 0 | $2.1M | 0 | 1997–2019 |
| Lightning | 2 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1997–2009 |
Decade by decade
San Joaquin 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1988-04-19 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 1967-05-31 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 2022-04-21 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2012-04-11 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 2005-12-26 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 2005-04-08 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 1.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1998-03-28 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1996-04-01 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1996-04-01 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1996-04-01 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.8 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in San Joaquin County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 19, 1997 | Lightning | LODI | 0 | 3 | $0 |
| Sep 13, 2009 | Lightning | COLLEGEVILLE | 0 | 1 | $0 |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
San Joaquin County completed a preliminary estimate of damage from flooding. There was substantial flooding, with around $24.7million in individual assistance/private property loss including 172 properties destroyed and 194 properties with major damage. There was around $82 million in public damages. The estimated grand total as of January 26 was $106.9 million.
A levee breach 5-10 feet wide occurred along the San Joaquin River, 6 miles south of Lathrop. An evacuation was ordered by San Joaquin OES for south of Woodward Ave., west of Union Rd., and north of Mortensen. |Most of the areas affected are rural-agricultural areas.|As of approximately 21:00, the levee breach was plugged with rock and soil. Rip rap was applied on the waterside for wave wash protection. There were 10 structures were located near the inundation area.
Rain caused damage to the Lodi Middle School administration building. The building was undergoing roof repairs, and a temporary tarp was in place. The tarp failed, allowing rain to enter the building and resulting in more than $100,000 damage.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively High
FEMA NRI risk rating
797,334
Population (ACS)
$531K
Median home value
25
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 San Joaquin County, California?
116 events are on record between 1967 and 2026, causing 0 direct deaths and $111.1M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in San Joaquin County?
Flood, with 49 recorded events — 42.2% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed San Joaquin 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 San Joaquin County?
25 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include San Joaquin County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is San Joaquin County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates San Joaquin County as relatively high risk, placing it in the 99 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the San Joaquin 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 Francisco County 135
- San Luis Obispo County 83
- San Diego County 1,117
- San Mateo County 163
- San Bernardino County 1,642
- Santa Barbara County 162
Cite this page
“San Joaquin County, California.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/california/san-joaquin-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.