Sacramento County, California severe weather history spans 246 recorded events between 1959 and 2026. The dominant hazard is flood, accounting for 66.3% of all recorded events. It ranks #2,132 nationally and #15 in California.
246
Recorded events
5
Direct deaths
2
Direct injuries
$279.2M
Property damage
The record
What the Sacramento County, California severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Sacramento County, California severe weather history averages 3.7 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2020s, with 124 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 10 events fall before 1990 and 236 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Sacramento County, California record is flash flood, responsible for 4 direct deaths. The costliest is flood, with $138.6M 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 Sacramento County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flood | 163 | 1 | $138.6M | 0 | 1999–2026 |
| Heavy Rain | 29 | 0 | $365K | 0 | 1998–2021 |
| Tornado | 15 | 0 | $1.5M | F2 | 1978–2023 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 13 | 0 | $73K | 80 | 1973–2026 |
| Hail | 9 | 0 | $111K | 0.88 | 1959–2019 |
| Flash Flood | 9 | 4 | $138.4M | 0 | 1997–2023 |
| Funnel Cloud | 7 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2001–2018 |
| Lightning | 1 | 0 | $150K | 0 | 2000–2000 |
Decade by decade
Sacramento County, California severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
17 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 17 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1978-02-07 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 1.9 mi | Touched down here |
| 2015-12-24 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 6.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 2012-10-22 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1988-04-19 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1983-03-22 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2023-01-14 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 2022-11-08 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.8 mi | Touched down here |
| 2020-05-18 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 2017-01-11 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.4 mi | Touched down here |
| 2011-02-25 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.4 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Sacramento County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 24, 2025 | Flood | PT PLEASANT | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| Jan 1, 2023 | Flash Flood | SLOUGH HOUSE | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| Jan 1, 2023 | Flash Flood | TWIN CITIES | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| Jan 1, 2023 | Flash Flood | MC CONNELL | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| Jan 2, 1997 | Flash Flood | WILTON | 1 | 0 | $2.4M |
| Feb 14, 2019 | Flood | MAYHEW | 0 | 1 | $0 |
| Jan 23, 2000 | Heavy Rain | SACRAMENTO | 0 | 1 | $15K |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
The California Highway Patrol on January 4 reported a fatality associated with the December 31 – January 1 flash flood due to levee breaks. A female body was found outside a vehicle near Dillard Road east of CA-99. This is one of three confirmed fatalities from this event.
Sacramento County Sheriff confirmed a drowning on January 4 associated with the December 31 – January 1 flash flood event. A female body was found inside a vehicle. This was the third drowning associated with the event. This flooding was due to levee breaks on the Cosumnes River.
There was a male fatality due to drowning in a submerged car, confirmed by Cosumnes Fire Department near SR 99 and Dillard Rd. A levee breech on the Cosumnes River caused the flash flood. This was one of three drowning deaths reported from the flash flood event. The Cosumnes Fire Department said they rescued dozens of people in the area over the past 24 hours. A helicopter from Metro Fire also rescued several people in the area. SR 99 remained closed due to flooding on the roadway. Several vehicles are still stuck in the flood waters. Wilton firefighters responded to 25 vehicles stranded in flood water and half a dozen fallen power lines. They also cleared many downed trees from the roadways as they navigated around Wilton.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively High
FEMA NRI risk rating
1,594,006
Population (ACS)
$534K
Median home value
23
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 |
Within the county
Most affected places
- Sacramento 106
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Sacramento County, California?
246 events are on record between 1959 and 2026, causing 5 direct deaths and $279.2M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Sacramento County?
Flood, with 163 recorded events — 66.3% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Sacramento County?
17 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 17 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Sacramento County?
23 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Sacramento County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Sacramento County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Sacramento County as relatively high risk, placing it in the 98 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Sacramento 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
- Riverside County 930
- San Benito County 38
- Plumas County 120
- San Bernardino County 1,642
- Placer County 168
- San Diego County 1,117
Cite this page
“Sacramento County, California.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/california/sacramento-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.