58
Recorded events
1
Direct deaths
19
Direct injuries
$36.3M
Property damage
Heavy Rain in Orange County, California: 58 recorded events between 1998 and 2025. The strongest on record measured 1.46. That places the county #78 nationally and #14 statewide for this hazard.
Decade by decade
Heavy Rain in Orange County, California: events per decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
The busiest decade for heavy rain in Orange County is the 2020s, when 37 of the county's 58 recorded events were logged. Comparing decades is useful for spotting active periods, but the earliest years are thin because systematic reporting for this hazard began later.
Within the Orange County archive, heavy rain makes up 14.8% of all recorded severe weather across 15 hazard types. Nationally the county sits at #78 for this hazard and #14 within California, putting it in the 96.8 percentile of all U.S. counties.
Seasonality
Events by month
Feb is the peak month for heavy rain in Orange County with 15 recorded events, while Jun is the quietest. Seasonality here is a property of the archive as much as the climate: reports cluster where population and spotter networks are densest.
Significant events
Deadliest on record
| Date | Location | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 10, 2000 | HUNTINGTON BEACH | 1.46 | 1 | 4 | $300K |
| Dec 15, 2008 | DISNEYLAND | 0 | 0 | 14 | $250K |
| Feb 25, 2003 | FULLERTON | 0 | 0 | 1 | $150K |
Most recent
Latest recorded events
| Date | Location | Magnitude | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 21, 2025 | WESTMINSTER | 0 | $0 |
| Nov 16, 2025 | LAGUNA HILLS | 0 | $0 |
| Nov 15, 2025 | TRABUCO | 0 | $0 |
| Nov 15, 2025 | (FUL)FULLERTON MUNI | 0 | $0 |
| Nov 15, 2025 | (FUL)FULLERTON MUNI | 0 | $0 |
| Mar 7, 2025 | LAGUNA HILLS | 0 | $0 |
| Mar 6, 2025 | LAGUNA HILLS | 0 | $0 |
| Mar 5, 2025 | ESPERANZA | 0 | $0 |
| Feb 14, 2025 | TRABUCO CANYON | 0 | $0 |
| Feb 14, 2025 | LAGUNA HILLS | 0 | $0 |
Other hazards here
More from Orange County
- Flood 80
- Flash Flood 58
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Huntington Beach received 1.25 inches of rainfall in one hour between 2000 and 2100 PST on January 15th. Local officials closed the Pacific Coast Highway (route 1) at approximately 9pm January 15th and kept it closed through the afternoon hours of January 16th.
John Wayne Airport reported 2.56 inches of rainfall in about 2 hours on December 6th. This is a 1 in 100 year return interval. Cars in nearby Costa Mesa were seen completely submerged completely or stalled in deep water up to the windows.
Heavy rain fell across much of Orange County on February 1st and 2nd. Rainfall totals generally ranged from 1-2 inches, with totals between 2.00-2.50 inches occurring in portions of the Santa Ana Mountains in Orange County.
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many heavy rain events are on record in Orange County, California?
58 heavy rain events are recorded in Orange County between 1998 and 2025, causing 1 direct deaths.
What is the strongest heavy rain recorded in Orange County?
The strongest heavy rain on record in Orange County measured 1.46.
Where does the heavy rain data for Orange County come from?
All events come from the NOAA/NCEI Storm Events Database, the federal public-domain archive of severe weather reports. Dates are UTC, damage is as reported and not inflation-adjusted, and the most recent entries may still be revised.
Cite this page
“Heavy Rain in Orange County, California.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/california/orange-county/heavy-rain/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.