Tornado Risk in California

All California counties ranked by FEMA National Risk Index tornado score

Tornado risk — violently rotating columns of air capable of catastrophic local damage — is rated for 58 of 58 California counties in FEMA's National Risk Index. Los Angeles County carries the state's highest tornado score at 97.7, with $18M in expected annual tornado losses.

1 California county is rated High or Very High for tornado, and expected annual losses from tornado total roughly $54M statewide. The full ranking below links to each county's complete 18-hazard risk profile.

County Rankings — Tornado

#CountyTornado ScoreRatingAnn. Freq.Ann. Loss
1 Los Angeles County
97.7
High 0.49 / yr $18M
2 Riverside County
86.7
Medium 0.45 / yr $6M
3 Orange County
83.7
Medium 0.13 / yr $5M
4 San Bernardino County
78.8
Medium 0.76 / yr $4M
5 Alameda County
65.8
Medium 0.09 / yr $2M
6 Sacramento County
65.0
Medium 0.12 / yr $2M
7 San Diego County
64.4
Low 0.31 / yr $2M
8 Fresno County
57.1
Low 0.52 / yr $1M
9 Santa Clara County
55.8
Low 0.11 / yr $2M
10 Contra Costa County
49.9
Low 0.10 / yr $1M
11 San Joaquin County
49.0
Low 0.18 / yr $1M
12 Ventura County
42.4
Low 0.13 / yr $1M
13 San Francisco County
34.9
Low 0.01 / yr $652K
14 Solano County
34.1
Low 0.12 / yr $722K
15 San Mateo County
30.6
Low 0.05 / yr $627K
16 Tulare County
30.3
Low 0.30 / yr $427K
17 Monterey County
28.7
Low 0.13 / yr $404K
18 Butte County
28.2
Low 0.15 / yr $389K
19 Stanislaus County
27.8
Low 0.18 / yr $462K
20 Merced County
26.2
Low 0.22 / yr $322K
21 Placer County
23.3
Very Low 0.14 / yr $387K
22 Yolo County
22.4
Very Low 0.13 / yr $331K
23 Kern County
19.8
Very Low 0.37 / yr $186K
24 Madera County
19.3
Very Low 0.20 / yr $156K
25 Santa Cruz County
18.7
Very Low 0.03 / yr $235K
26 Marin County
18.6
Very Low 0.05 / yr $242K
27 Napa County
18.3
Very Low 0.09 / yr $211K
28 Nevada County
17.9
Very Low 0.09 / yr $194K
29 Kings County
16.4
Very Low 0.11 / yr $132K
30 Sonoma County
15.4
Very Low 0.08 / yr $163K
31 Shasta County
15.4
Very Low 0.07 / yr $149K
32 Sutter County
14.9
Very Low 0.08 / yr $123K
33 Yuba County
14.9
Very Low 0.08 / yr $150K
34 El Dorado County
13.7
Very Low 0.15 / yr $143K
35 Tehama County
12.9
Very Low 0.16 / yr $96K
36 Imperial County
11.4
Very Low 0.10 / yr $53K
37 Lake County
10.9
Very Low 0.10 / yr $60K
38 Mendocino County
10.5
Very Low 0.10 / yr $54K
39 San Benito County
10.2
Very Low 0.12 / yr $96K
40 Plumas County
9.8
Very Low 0.14 / yr $42K
41 Colusa County
9.3
Very Low 0.13 / yr $51K
42 Glenn County
8.8
Very Low 0.11 / yr $65K
43 Calaveras County
8.0
Very Low 0.10 / yr $38K
44 Humboldt County
7.9
Very Low 0.03 / yr $32K
45 Tuolumne County
7.9
Very Low 0.13 / yr $38K
46 Mariposa County
6.4
Very Low 0.12 / yr $18K
47 San Luis Obispo County
6.1
Very Low 0.09 / yr $29K
48 Amador County
6.0
Very Low 0.06 / yr $26K
49 Santa Barbara County
5.4
Very Low 0.10 / yr $20K
50 Trinity County
4.7
Very Low 0.03 / yr $11K
51 Del Norte County
3.3
Very Low 0.01 / yr $8K
52 Lassen County
3.2
Very Low 0.05 / yr $6K
53 Inyo County
2.9
Very Low 0.10 / yr $4K
54 Mono County
2.5
Very Low 0.04 / yr $5K
55 Sierra County
2.4
Very Low 0.06 / yr $4K
56 Siskiyou County
1.9
Very Low 0.04 / yr $2K
57 Modoc County
1.1
Very Low 0.02 / yr $572
58 Alpine County
1.1
Very Low 0.02 / yr $197

58 California counties with measurable tornado risk. See the national tornado ranking or all California counties by overall risk.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which California county has the highest tornado risk?

Los Angeles County has the highest FEMA tornado risk score in California at 97.7 (High), with $18M in expected annual losses and about 0.49 events per year.

How many California counties face significant tornado risk?

58 California counties record measurable tornado risk in FEMA's National Risk Index; 1 of them are rated High or Very High.

Other Hazards in California

Avalanche Coastal Flood Cold Wave Drought Earthquake Hail Heat Wave Hurricane Riverine Flood Landslide Lightning Strong Wind Tsunami Volcanic Activity Wildfire Winter Weather