Sonoma County, California severe weather history spans 419 recorded events between 1958 and 2026. The dominant hazard is flood, accounting for 60.9% of all recorded events. It ranks #1,181 nationally and #8 in California.
419
Recorded events
7
Direct deaths
5
Direct injuries
$219.1M
Property damage
The record
What the Sonoma County, California severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Sonoma County, California severe weather history averages 6.2 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 302 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 4 events fall before 1990 and 415 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Sonoma County, California record is flood, responsible for 5 direct deaths. The costliest is flood, with $208.1M 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 Sonoma County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flood | 255 | 5 | $208.1M | 0 | 2005–2026 |
| Debris Flow | 60 | 0 | $16K | 0 | 2012–2025 |
| Flash Flood | 40 | 1 | $8.0M | 0 | 1996–2019 |
| Heavy Rain | 24 | 1 | $384K | 438 | 1996–2024 |
| Hail | 21 | 0 | $0 | 0.75 | 2003–2021 |
| Tornado | 13 | 0 | $1.6M | F2 | 1958–2011 |
| Lightning | 3 | 0 | $1.0M | 0 | 2001–2020 |
| Funnel Cloud | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2015–2015 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 1 | 0 | $0 | 60 | 2020–2020 |
| Waterspout | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1998–1998 |
Decade by decade
Sonoma County, California severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
12 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 11 touched down inside it and 1 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 | Crossed in |
| 2011-03-18 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 2005-01-27 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1998-12-05 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1996-02-22 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1992-12-02 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 7.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1992-12-02 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1992-12-02 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 3.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1983-02-27 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.8 mi | Touched down here |
| 1964-11-10 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Sonoma County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 5, 2009 | Heavy Rain | FETTERS HOT SPGS | 1 | 1 | $50K |
| Feb 6, 2025 | Flood | MOLINO | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| Feb 5, 2025 | Flood | MARK WEST SPGS | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| Nov 23, 2024 | Flood | GUERNEVILLE | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| Jan 9, 2023 | Flood | MIRABELL PARK | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| Jan 7, 2019 | Flood | ROSELAND | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| Jan 1, 1997 | Flash Flood | (STS)SANTA ROSA ARPT | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| Jan 25, 2001 | Lightning | CENTRAL PORTION | 0 | 1 | $1.0M |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Heavy rain caused many trees throughout Sonoma County to fall resulting in closed roads, damaged homes, injuries and even a death of a five-year-old boy. An oak tree fell onto an occupied car on Bennett Valley Road killing the child and injuring his father. Another oak tree crashed down on a house in Boyes Hot Springs along Poplar Avenue. And, yet another oak tree fell across Highway 12 in Schellville closing the highway to traffic between Watmaugh and Highway 121 for almost three hours.
A man was found dead around 7 a.m. On February 6th at Sanford and Hall roads, a rural stretch west of Santa Rosa lined with scattered homes and open fields. Sheriff���s deputies had been searching for an 83-year-old man reported missing around 9 p.m. on the 5th. Investigators have not yet confirmed whether the recovered body is his.
Roadway flooding was reported along Mark West Creek near the communities of Forestville and Trenton. A 43-year old woman from Ukiah was recovered on the 10th after her car got stuck in floodwaters. She had called 911 to report that her car was taking on water on Trenton-Healdsburg Road. The call cut out, and Sonoma County Fire sent swift water rescue gear around 10:10 AM on the 9th. A helicopter from the Sonoma County Sheriff's office was also involved. The search was called off at sunset, and by the morning of the 10th, the vehicle was found sitting in 8 to 10 feet of floodwaters.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively High
FEMA NRI risk rating
485,040
Population (ACS)
$816K
Median home value
36
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 |
| Oct 16, 2020 | Fire | WILDFIRES | DR |
| Sep 27, 2020 | Fire | GLASS FIRE | FM |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Sonoma County, California?
419 events are on record between 1958 and 2026, causing 7 direct deaths and $219.1M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Sonoma County?
Flood, with 255 recorded events — 60.9% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Sonoma County?
12 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 11 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Sonoma County?
36 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Sonoma County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Sonoma County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Sonoma County as relatively high risk, placing it in the 99 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Sonoma 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
- Solano County 52
- Stanislaus County 80
- Siskiyou County 92
- Sutter County 33
- Sierra County 60
- Tehama County 139
Cite this page
“Sonoma County, California.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/california/sonoma-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.