Inyo County, California severe weather history spans 302 recorded events between 1982 and 2026. The dominant hazard is flash flood, accounting for 76.5% of all recorded events. It ranks #1,776 nationally and #10 in California.
302
Recorded events
2
Direct deaths
1
Direct injuries
$581.8M
Property damage
The record
What the Inyo County, California severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Inyo County, California severe weather history averages 6.9 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 169 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 6 events fall before 1990 and 296 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Inyo County, California record is flash flood, responsible for 2 direct deaths. The costliest is flash flood, with $568.5M 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 Inyo County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | 231 | 2 | $568.5M | 0 | 1997–2026 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 31 | 0 | $152K | 87 | 1982–2025 |
| Flood | 24 | 0 | $13.2M | 0 | 2000–2025 |
| Hail | 6 | 0 | $0 | 1 | 1997–2015 |
| Heavy Rain | 6 | 0 | $30K | 0 | 1998–2023 |
| Tornado | 2 | 0 | $0 | EF0 | 2012–2018 |
| Lightning | 1 | 0 | $1K | 0 | 2016–2016 |
| Funnel Cloud | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2012–2012 |
Decade by decade
Inyo County, California severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
2 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 2 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018-03-03 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 2012-11-30 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 1.6 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Inyo County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 16, 2004 | Flash Flood | DEATH VLY | 2 | 0 | $20.0M |
| Jul 13, 2008 | Flash Flood | INDEPENDENCE | 0 | 1 | $10.0M |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Severe flooding in Death Valley National Park caused extensive flooding along CA Highway 190 and Route 127. The flooding completely washed away several miles of roadway and caused damage to several rest areas. Two people traveling along Highway 190 were caught in the flooding and killed after being caught in the flood. Damage was estimated at 20 million dollars and will likely take up to 3 months to completely repair the damage.
Major flash flooding occurred throughout Death Valley National Park. Four hundred miles of NPS roads were damaged or destroyed, in addition to other roads maintained by the county and state. About 1000 feet of fresh water lines were destroyed at Furnace Creek. Damage to most structures was minimized or prevented by berms and other protections. The exact start and end times are unknown.
Major flash flooding hit the Grapevine Canyon area of Death Valley National Park. The Mesquite Springs Campground and Grapevine Ranger Station were evacuated; eight vehicles full of visitors and three park rangers were stranded overnight near Ubehebe Crater. Trenches up to six feet deep were cut into Scotty's Castle Road in Grapevine Canyon. 24 power poles were downed, the water treatment facility was heavily damaged, and water lines and the historic water tank were destroyed. The stables building and long house were heavily damaged. Two feet of mud and debris filled the visitor's center. Several inches of mud, rock, and debris also entered the cookhouse. Scotty's Castle measured 2.72 inches of rain in roughly five hours.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
18,739
Population (ACS)
$349K
Median home value
16
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 21, 2023 | Hurricane | TROPICAL STORM HILARY | 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 |
| 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 Inyo County, California?
302 events are on record between 1982 and 2026, causing 2 direct deaths and $581.8M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Inyo County?
Flash Flood, with 231 recorded events — 76.5% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Inyo County?
2 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 2 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Inyo County?
16 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Inyo County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Inyo County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Inyo County as relatively low risk, placing it in the 79 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Inyo 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
- Imperial County 257
- Kern County 832
- Humboldt County 239
- Kings County 157
- Glenn County 50
- Lake County 53
Cite this page
“Inyo County, California.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/california/inyo-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.