Ventura County, California severe weather history spans 169 recorded events between 1982 and 2026. The dominant hazard is flash flood, accounting for 49.1% of all recorded events. It ranks #2,614 nationally and #24 in California.
169
Recorded events
3
Direct deaths
25
Direct injuries
$5.4M
Property damage
The record
What the Ventura County, California severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Ventura County, California severe weather history averages 3.8 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2020s, with 60 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 2 events fall before 1990 and 167 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Ventura County, California record is rip current, responsible for 2 direct deaths. The costliest is wildfire, with $5.4M in reported property damage. In total, 13 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Ventura County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | 83 | 1 | $0 | 0 | 1998–2026 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 21 | 0 | $2K | 71 | 1998–2026 |
| Flood | 14 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1998–2025 |
| Wildfire | 13 | 0 | $5.4M | 0 | 1996–2003 |
| Heavy Rain | 8 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2001–2012 |
| Tornado | 8 | 0 | $5K | F0 | 1982–2025 |
| Debris Flow | 7 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2014–2025 |
| Hail | 5 | 0 | $0 | 1.5 | 1987–2010 |
| Funnel Cloud | 4 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1999–2024 |
| Lightning | 2 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2000–2011 |
| Waterspout | 2 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2001–2001 |
| Frost/Freeze | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1998–1998 |
| Rip Current | 1 | 2 | $0 | 0 | 1999–1999 |
Decade by decade
Ventura County, California severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
8 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 8 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-02-13 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.6 mi | Touched down here |
| 2019-12-25 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.8 mi | Touched down here |
| 2010-01-21 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 1.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 2008-01-24 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 2005-01-10 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1998-05-13 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1992-12-07 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1982-11-09 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Ventura County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 3, 1999 | Rip Current | HOLLYWOOD BY THE SEA | 2 | 4 | $0 |
| Jan 20, 2010 | Flash Flood | NEWBURY PARK | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| Oct 18, 1998 | Wildfire | PIRU | 0 | 7 | $400K |
| Sep 13, 2011 | Lightning | WHEELER SPGS | 0 | 3 | $0 |
| May 1, 1996 | Wildfire | FILLMORE | 0 | 3 | $0 |
| Dec 26, 2000 | Wildfire | THOUSAND OAKS | 0 | 2 | $0 |
| Dec 4, 1999 | Wildfire | SOMIS | 0 | 2 | $0 |
| Apr 28, 1996 | Wildfire | FILLMORE | 0 | 2 | $0 |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
A Ventura county man drowned in the Wildwood Park area of Thousand Oaks. The individual was hiking in the park to observe the local creeks that were flooded due to the heavy rainfall. The individual fell into one of the creeks and drowned.
The combination of dry vegetation and offshore winds fueled a wildfire in the Santa Clara Valley. The Piru Fire, started by sparks from a welder's torch, burned over 12,500 acres between the communities of Piru and Fillmore. Sixty power poles and 1700 agricultural trees were either lost or damaged. Several homes in Fillmore were evacuated. Seven minor injuries were reported.
An EF0 tornado with gusts up to 85 MPH developed across southeastern section of the city of Oxnard. The tornado damaged 12 mobile homes in two different mobile home parks (Country Club Mobile Estates and Ocean-Aire Mobile Home Estates). There was loss of shingles and roof coverings, shattered windows and toppled fences.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively High
FEMA NRI risk rating
837,469
Population (ACS)
$823K
Median home value
53
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 18, 2026 | Fire | SANDY FIRE | FM |
| Nov 6, 2024 | Fire | MOUNTAIN FIRE | FM |
| Apr 13, 2024 | Severe Storm | SEVERE WINTER STORMS, TORNADOES, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES, AND MUDSLIDES | DR |
| Apr 3, 2023 | Severe Storm | SEVERE WINTER STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES, AND MUDSLIDES | DR |
| Jan 14, 2023 | Flood | SEVERE WINTER STORMS, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES, AND MUDSLIDES | DR |
| Jan 9, 2023 | Flood | SEVERE WINTER STORMS, FLOODING, AND MUDSLIDES | EM |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Ventura County, California?
169 events are on record between 1982 and 2026, causing 3 direct deaths and $5.4M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Ventura County?
Flash Flood, with 83 recorded events — 49.1% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Ventura County?
8 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 8 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Ventura County?
53 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Ventura County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Ventura County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Ventura County as relatively high risk, placing it in the 99 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Ventura 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
- Tuolumne County 66
- Yolo County 75
- Tulare County 474
- Yuba County 38
- Trinity County 72
- Tehama County 139
Cite this page
“Ventura County, California.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/california/ventura-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.