Riverside County, California severe weather history spans 930 recorded events between 1955 and 2026. The dominant hazard is flash flood, accounting for 31.7% of all recorded events. It ranks #184 nationally and #3 in California.
930
Recorded events
10
Direct deaths
147
Direct injuries
$275.4M
Property damage
The record
What the Riverside County, California severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Riverside County, California severe weather history averages 13.1 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 293 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 28 events fall before 1990 and 902 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Riverside County, California record is flash flood, responsible for 3 direct deaths. The costliest is flash flood, with $179.5M in reported property damage. In total, 12 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Riverside County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | 295 | 3 | $179.5M | 0 | 1997–2025 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 168 | 0 | $13.6M | 88 | 1973–2026 |
| Flood | 132 | 3 | $2.3M | 0 | 1997–2025 |
| Wildfire | 96 | 1 | $17.7M | 0 | 1996–2003 |
| Heavy Rain | 92 | 0 | $40.4M | 1.5 | 2000–2025 |
| Lightning | 35 | 1 | $251K | 0 | 1996–2024 |
| Hail | 31 | 0 | $77K | 2.75 | 1960–2025 |
| Debris Flow | 27 | 0 | $3K | 0 | 2014–2025 |
| Tornado | 26 | 0 | $21.5M | F3 | 1955–2022 |
| Funnel Cloud | 24 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1996–2025 |
| Dust Devil | 2 | 2 | $5K | 0 | 2013–2024 |
| Strong Wind | 2 | 0 | $0 | 43 | 1998–2025 |
Decade by decade
Riverside County, California severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
28 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 28 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1978-02-09 | EF3 | 0 | 6 | 2.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1973-08-16 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 2008-05-22 | EF2 | 0 | 1 | 2.8 mi | Touched down here |
| 2015-08-06 | EF1 | 0 | 2 | 4.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2005-02-19 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 2.8 mi | Touched down here |
| 1996-12-22 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1974-07-20 | EF1 | 0 | 1 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2022-10-08 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 1.6 mi | Touched down here |
| 2022-08-28 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 2018-08-16 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.2 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Riverside County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 8, 2000 | Flood | ELSINORE | 2 | 4 | $60K |
| Aug 4, 2024 | Dust Devil | ELLIS | 2 | 2 | $0 |
| Jul 13, 1999 | Flood | BEAUMONT | 1 | 4 | $50K |
| Oct 1, 2018 | Flash Flood | MORTMAR | 1 | 0 | $50K |
| Dec 22, 2010 | Flash Flood | QUAIL VLY | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| Jul 30, 2003 | Lightning | ROMOLAND | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| Jun 29, 2001 | Wildfire | LAKE ELSINORE | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| Mar 5, 2000 | Flash Flood | DESERT HOT SPGS | 1 | 0 | $300K |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Media outlets from LA reported 2 fatalities associated with skydiving deaths. At least 1 large dust devil was reported at the time of the accident and was reported to cause the instructor to loose control of the chute. The temperature was 103F and wind gusts were as high as 18 mph at nearby weather stations. This region is flat and know as the Inland Empire. The skydiving facility is at the Perris Valley airport. The instructor and the student died on scene and the hospital. Both skydivers were reported to be female and 28 years old.
Thunderstorms with very heavy rain developed across portions of eastern Riverside County during the evening hours on September 30th. The stronger storms produced intense rain that led to flash flooding to the southwest of Joshua Tree National Park and to the north of the Salton Sea. At 1925PST (2025 PDT) the California Highway Patrol reported that Box Canyon Road was closed at the Mecca Copia Trail due to flash flooding. Significant impacts were reported to have occurred further downstream. Major damage was reportedly done to the Box Canyon Road forcing the road to be closed for days. It was also reported that a man was swept to his death driving along Box Canyon Road between Interstate 10 and Highway 111. He was returning from a camping trip in Joshua Tree National Park. His damaged car was found by the road later the next day with no trace of the man to be found. A Flash Flood Warning was issued for the area at 1909MST and it remained in effect until 2215MST.
A 39 year old Menifee woman was driving south on Goetz Road when the car was swept off the road by swift runoff from the Salt Creek, where it flows into Canyon Lake. She was found dead in her car at the bottom of the lake several hours later.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Very High
FEMA NRI risk rating
2,478,600
Population (ACS)
$557K
Median home value
66
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 20, 2026 | Fire | BAIN FIRE | FM |
| Sep 11, 2024 | Fire | AIRPORT FIRE | FM |
| Jul 21, 2024 | Fire | HAWARDEN FIRE | FM |
| Nov 21, 2023 | Hurricane | TROPICAL STORM HILARY | DR |
| Jan 9, 2023 | Flood | SEVERE WINTER STORMS, FLOODING, AND MUDSLIDES | EM |
| Sep 6, 2022 | Fire | FAIRVIEW FIRE | FM |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Riverside County, California?
930 events are on record between 1955 and 2026, causing 10 direct deaths and $275.4M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Riverside County?
Flash Flood, with 295 recorded events — 31.7% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Riverside County?
28 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 28 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Riverside County?
66 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Riverside County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Riverside County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Riverside County as very high risk, placing it in the 100 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Riverside 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
- Plumas County 120
- Sacramento County 246
- Placer County 168
- San Benito County 38
- Orange County 393
- San Bernardino County 1,642
Cite this page
“Riverside County, California.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/california/riverside-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.