118
Recorded events
5
Direct deaths
5
Direct injuries
$7.2M
Property damage
Thunderstorm Wind in San Diego County, California: 118 recorded events between 1955 and 2026. The strongest on record measured 64. That places the county #1,961 nationally and #3 statewide for this hazard.
Decade by decade
Thunderstorm Wind in San Diego County, California: events per decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
The busiest decade for thunderstorm wind in San Diego County is the 2010s, when 49 of the county's 118 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 San Diego County archive, thunderstorm wind makes up 10.6% of all recorded severe weather across 16 hazard types. Nationally the county sits at #1,961 for this hazard and #3 within California, putting it in the 37.6 percentile of all U.S. counties.
Seasonality
Events by month
Sep is the peak month for thunderstorm wind in San Diego County with 25 recorded events, while May 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 22, 2007 | LAKE HENSHAW | 30 | 3 | 0 | $0 |
| Jan 31, 2016 | PACIFIC BEACH | 52 | 1 | 2 | $75K |
| Jan 19, 2010 | (SEE)SAN DIEGO GILLE | 52 | 1 | 0 | $100K |
| Dec 7, 1997 | NORTH IS NAS | 50 | 0 | 2 | $0 |
| Jan 20, 2017 | IMPERIAL BEACH | 61 | 0 | 1 | $1.0M |
Most recent
Latest recorded events
| Date | Location | Magnitude | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 18, 2026 | RANCHO SANTA FE | 50 | $0 |
| Sep 18, 2025 | BORREGO SPGS | 56 | $0 |
| Aug 25, 2025 | PINE VLY | 54 | $0 |
| Aug 25, 2025 | PINE VLY | 50 | $0 |
| Mar 7, 2025 | IMPERIAL BEACH | 50 | $0 |
| Mar 7, 2025 | CAMP ELLIOT | 50 | $0 |
| Aug 11, 2024 | MORONGO LODGE | 37 | $10K |
| Aug 11, 2024 | WHISPERING PINES | 43 | $10K |
| Jul 24, 2024 | BUCKMAN SPGS | 46 | $10K |
| Jul 24, 2024 | (CZZ)CAMPO | 44 | $10K |
Other hazards here
More from San Diego County
- Flash Flood 256
- Flood 238
- Heavy Rain 140
- Wildfire 105
- Funnel Cloud 58
- Hail 52
- Lightning 43
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
A narrow band of thunderstorms moved through San Diego county around 1500 PST. In Santee, winds tore off the roofs of three mobile homes, with some parts of the roof flying as much as 75 feet away. In Flinn Springs, a 10 foot diameter tree fell onto a mobile home, killing a woman. The San Miguel RAWS measured a peak wind gust of 59 MPH during this time.
A pine tree 8 ft in diameter succumbed to strong winds, falling on 4 cars and killing a 48 year old woman who was driving down Ingraham Street. An additional tree fell during the cleanup operations, injuring 2 reporters.
San Diego Lindbergh Field recorded a wind gust of 58 mph ahead of an approaching squall line. This was the highest wind gust ever measured at Lindbergh Field for the month of December. Just south of the airport in National City, the top 200 feet of the KSON broadcast tower snapped off. A portion of the tower fell on 20 parked cars. Winds gusts over 60 mph blew down many trees and caused damage to houses, cars, and power poles.
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many thunderstorm wind events are on record in San Diego County, California?
118 thunderstorm wind events are recorded in San Diego County between 1955 and 2026, causing 5 direct deaths.
What is the strongest thunderstorm wind recorded in San Diego County?
The strongest thunderstorm wind on record in San Diego County measured 64.
Where does the thunderstorm wind data for San Diego 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
“Thunderstorm Wind in San Diego County, California.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/california/san-diego-county/thunderstorm-wind/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.