Marin County, California severe weather history spans 167 recorded events between 1996 and 2025. The dominant hazard is flood, accounting for 56.9% of all recorded events. It ranks #2,621 nationally and #26 in California.
167
Recorded events
1
Direct deaths
1
Direct injuries
$224.2M
Property damage
The record
What the Marin County, California severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Marin County, California severe weather history averages 5.8 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 107 events logged in that decade alone.
The deadliest hazard in the Marin County, California record is heavy rain, responsible for 1 direct deaths. The costliest is flood, with $216.2M 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 Marin County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flood | 95 | 0 | $216.2M | 0 | 2002–2025 |
| Debris Flow | 24 | 0 | $2.0M | 0 | 2014–2021 |
| Flash Flood | 19 | 0 | $5.6M | 0 | 1997–2017 |
| Hail | 12 | 0 | $500 | 0.25 | 1996–2021 |
| Heavy Rain | 10 | 1 | $264K | 141 | 1996–2024 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 4 | 0 | $0 | 78 | 2004–2025 |
| Lightning | 2 | 0 | $30K | 0 | 2009–2019 |
| Tornado | 1 | 0 | $200K | F1 | 1996–1996 |
Decade by decade
Marin 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1958-06-01 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 15.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1996-12-23 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 6.0 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Marin County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 7, 1999 | Heavy Rain | LAGUNITAS | 1 | 0 | $24K |
| Feb 4, 2025 | Flood | TOCALOMA | 0 | 1 | $10 |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Heavy rainfall produced significant rises on Novato Creek between highways 101 and 37 on the east side of the city of Novato. This led to an intentional breach of the levee on a 20 foot section to prevent floodwaters from reaching downtown businesses and nearby subdivisions. This same flooding also resulted in failure of a smaller portion of the levee and overtopped another section. Caltrans levees on highway 37 were breached and a culvert was washed out.
Heavy rain and overwhelmed storm drains led to a couple of flooded businesses in San Anselmo along Greenfield Avenue. Over 6 inches of rain fell within a 12 hour period. Kentfield shattered the 24 hour rainfall record for October 13 reporting 6.14 inches. Also, the morning commute was bogged down due to flooding along Highway 101 near Lucky Drive and Tamalpais Drive in Corte Madera, and at the junction of Highway 1 in Marin City.
Flooding damaged White Hill Middle School and classes were cancelled on Monday December 3rd due to classrooms being flooded. Significant flooding occurred with the library and several other classrooms covered in mud. Two art classrooms and two seventh grade classrooms, as well as an administrative office and a staff room suffered water damage.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively High
FEMA NRI risk rating
257,969
Population (ACS)
$1.5M
Median home value
26
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 3, 2023 | Severe Storm | SEVERE WINTER STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES, AND MUDSLIDES | DR |
| 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 |
| May 17, 2019 | Severe Storm | SEVERE WINTER STORMS, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES, AND MUDSLIDES | DR |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Marin County, California?
167 events are on record between 1996 and 2025, causing 1 direct deaths and $224.2M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Marin County?
Flood, with 95 recorded events — 56.9% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Marin 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 Marin County?
26 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Marin County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Marin County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Marin County as relatively high risk, placing it in the 96 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Marin 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
- Madera County 207
- Mariposa County 251
- Los Angeles County 515
- Mendocino County 140
- Lassen County 112
- Merced County 249
Cite this page
“Marin County, California.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/california/marin-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.