Shasta County, California severe weather history spans 193 recorded events between 1986 and 2026. The dominant hazard is heavy rain, accounting for 33.7% of all recorded events. It ranks #2,479 nationally and #22 in California.
193
Recorded events
9
Direct deaths
18
Direct injuries
$50.1M
Property damage
The record
What the Shasta County, California severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Shasta County, California severe weather history averages 4.8 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 94 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 3 events fall before 1990 and 190 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Shasta County, California record is flash flood, responsible for 4 direct deaths. The costliest is wildfire, with $42.5M in reported property damage. In total, 10 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Shasta County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Heavy Rain | 65 | 3 | $35K | 0 | 1996–2023 |
| Flood | 63 | 0 | $290K | 0 | 1998–2026 |
| Hail | 26 | 0 | $68K | 3 | 1986–2019 |
| Flash Flood | 12 | 4 | $7.1M | 0 | 1997–2025 |
| Wildfire | 11 | 0 | $42.5M | 0 | 1997–2000 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 6 | 0 | $65K | 50 | 1987–2019 |
| Funnel Cloud | 4 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1998–2023 |
| Debris Flow | 3 | 2 | $0 | 0 | 2014–2024 |
| Lightning | 2 | 0 | $15K | 0 | 2019–2023 |
| Dust Devil | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2013–2013 |
Decade by decade
Shasta County, California severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Shasta County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 22, 2024 | Debris Flow | SUMMIT CITY | 2 | 0 | $0 |
| Oct 26, 2014 | Flash Flood | INWOOD | 2 | 0 | $0 |
| Nov 19, 1996 | Heavy Rain | REDDING | 2 | 0 | $0 |
| Dec 22, 2025 | Flash Flood | REDDING | 1 | 0 | $7.0M |
| Mar 16, 2009 | Heavy Rain | REDDING | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| Jan 1, 1997 | Flash Flood | BURNEY | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| Oct 16, 1999 | Wildfire | BELLA VISTA | 0 | 4 | $22.2M |
| Oct 1, 1999 | Wildfire | REDDING | 0 | 4 | $13.3M |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
A 19 year old man and a 19-year-old women were driving in a vehicle that was swept off a small bridge over Lack Creek. Both were found drowned, their car about three quarters of a mile down stream. About 3.12 inches of rain fell nearby, measured by a RAWS station at Shingletown over 24 hours. Of that, 2.87 inches of rain fell in the 5 hours before the accident.
At approximately 9:00 AM PST on Thursday, February, 22, 2024, Shasta County Sheriff's Office responded to a report that rocks and debris had broken away from a hillside, near a drainage culvert that leads to the Sacramento River. Two juveniles were caught in the debris, fell down the hillside and died. Heavy rainfall impacted the area from February 18-21, 2024, with observed rainfall totals of 3-8 inches near the site of the incident.
A Convergence Zone set up over Redding/Shasta County around 1 PM on Sunday, December 21. Heavy rain fell until around 7 PM, where there was a lull before another line redeveloped and brought additional moderate to heavy rain into the late evening. County officials reported numerous reports of widespread flash flooding, stranded vehicles, and road closures. Commercial and residential damage was reported to over 170 structures with preliminary damage estimates upwards of 7 million dollars, from both public and private. One fatality was reported. Rain estimates were around 3-7 in 9 hours over the Redding and Southern Shasta County Area.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Moderate
FEMA NRI risk rating
181,436
Population (ACS)
$366K
Median home value
41
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 3, 2023 | Severe Storm | SEVERE WINTER STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES, AND MUDSLIDES | DR |
| Sep 23, 2021 | Fire | FAWN FIRE | FM |
| Oct 16, 2020 | Fire | WILDFIRES | DR |
| Sep 28, 2020 | Fire | ZOGG FIRE | FM |
| 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 Shasta County, California?
193 events are on record between 1986 and 2026, causing 9 direct deaths and $50.1M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Shasta County?
Heavy Rain, with 65 recorded events — 33.7% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Shasta County?
41 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Shasta County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Shasta County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Shasta County as relatively moderate risk, placing it in the 93 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Shasta 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
- Santa Cruz County 201
- Sierra County 60
- Santa Clara County 264
- Siskiyou County 92
- Santa Barbara County 162
- Solano County 52
Cite this page
“Shasta County, California.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/california/shasta-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.