States › California › Merced County
Merced County, California
Recorded hazard history: storm events since 1950, federal disaster declarations since 1953, flood insurance claims since 1978, and FEMA's risk index.
NCEI notes that Storm Data is compiled from a variety of sources including the National Weather Service, other federal, state and local agencies, the media and the public; that property and crop damage figures are estimates; and that some events are recorded by NWS forecast zone rather than by county. FEMA notes that NFIP claim records are redacted and aggregated to protect the privacy of policyholders. NCEI storm records through 30 Jun 2026; OpenFEMA declarations refreshed 1 Oct 2026; NFIP claims as of 8 Sep 2026.
Merced County, California, has 249 weather events in the NCEI Storm Events record since 1950, most of them floods and flash floods.
That is 12.8 events per 100 square miles, below the California figure of 26.2, and 8.7 per 10,000 residents against 10.4 statewide.
0 events fall in the 12 months to 30 Jun 2026. NCEI attributes 0 deaths and 8 injuries to events in the county, with property damage estimated at $34M and crop damage at $22M.
FEMA has designated the county in 19 federal disaster declarations since 1953; the most recent is Severe Winter Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides (major disaster, 3 Apr 2023).
National Flood Insurance Program policyholders in the county filed 499 claims since 1978, of which 352 were paid, totalling $15M (about $42K per paid claim). FEMA counts 3,886 residential flood policies in force.
FEMA's National Risk Index rates the county's overall risk as "Relatively High" and its expected annual loss as "Relatively High" ($205M a year across 18 hazards).
Compared with California and the United States
| Measure | Merced County | California | US |
|---|---|---|---|
| Recorded events since 1950 | 249 | 40,849 | 1,977,440 |
| Events per 100 square miles | 12.8 | 26.2 | 56.0 |
| Events per 10,000 residents | 8.7 | 10.4 | 59.6 |
| Events in the last 12 months | 0 | 1,233 | 62,008 |
| Deaths recorded by NCEI | 0 | 1,170 | 26,435 |
| Property damage (NCEI estimates) | $34M | $30B | $575B |
| NFIP claims per 1,000 residents | 1.7 | 1.4 | 8.1 |
| Average paid NFIP claim | $42K | $21K | $43K |
| Claims per 100 policies in force, last 10 years | 6.1 | 5.0 | 16.1 |
County-recorded events plus zone-recorded events whose forecast zone is named for the county. State and US rows include events recorded only by forecast zone. Rates use 2021 Census population and land area.
Events by decade
Trend: 171 events in the 20 years to 2025 against 73 in the 20 years before. Reporting practice changed in 1996 and again with automated reports in the 2000s, so decade totals measure the record as much as the weather.
Events by type
Hazard pages exist for hail, tornado, flood, wind and winter where the county has at least 10 recorded events. "Other" covers heavy rain, debris flow, dust, funnel clouds and similar reports.
Largest recorded events
| Date | Event type | Group | Magnitude | Property damage | Crop damage | Deaths | Injuries | Geography |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 24 Oct 1998 | Flood | Flood | — | $120K | — | — | 6 | County |
| 25 Mar 1998 | Flash Flood | Flood | — | $9.6M | $1.5M | — | — | County |
| 4 Mar 1978 | Tornado | Tornado | F1 | $250K | — | — | 1 | County |
| 1 May 1998 | Heavy Rain | Other | — | — | $10M | — | — | County |
| 17 Apr 2000 | Lightning | Lightning | — | — | — | — | 1 | County |
| 9 Jan 2023 | Flood | Flood | — | $10M | — | — | — | County |
| 4 Apr 2006 | Flood | Flood | — | $9.7M | — | — | — | County |
| 1 Feb 1998 | Heavy Rain | Other | — | $2.0M | $1.4M | — | — | County |
| 15 Jun 1995 | Thunderstorm Wind | Wind | 0 mph | $50K | $3.0M | — | — | County |
| 1 May 2003 | Heavy Rain | Other | — | — | $2.0M | — | — | County |
| 2 Apr 2006 | Heavy Rain | Other | — | — | $2.0M | — | — | County |
| 5 May 2016 | Lightning | Lightning | — | $1.0M | — | — | — | County |
| 13 Apr 1998 | Hail | Hail | — | — | $713K | — | — | County |
| 27 Mar 2011 | Flood | Flood | — | $500K | — | — | — | County |
| 12 Apr 2012 | Hail | Hail | 1.00 in | — | $500K | — | — | County |
| 16 Dec 2002 | Tornado | Tornado | F1 | $400K | — | — | — | County |
| 1 Apr 1996 | Thunderstorm Wind | Wind | 92 mph | $230K | $100K | — | — | County |
| 7 Apr 2001 | Hail | Hail | 0.75 in | — | $220K | — | — | County |
| 20 May 2002 | Hail | Hail | 0.50 in | — | $200K | — | — | County |
| 30 Nov 2012 | Flood | Flood | — | $120K | — | — | — | County |
Ranked by deaths, then injuries, then NCEI's damage estimate. Deaths and injuries are NCEI counts (direct plus indirect); no personal details are recorded here.
Federal disaster declarations
| Declared | Number | Type | Incident | Title | Programs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 Apr 2023 | DR-4699 | Major disaster | Severe Storm | Severe Winter Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides | Public assistance |
| 10 Mar 2023 | EM-3592 | Emergency | Flood | Severe Winter Storms, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides | Public assistance |
| 14 Jan 2023 | DR-4683 | Major disaster | Flood | Severe Winter Storms, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides | Individual assistance, Public assistance |
| 9 Jan 2023 | EM-3591 | Emergency | Flood | Severe Winter Storms, Flooding, And Mudslides | Public assistance |
| 22 Mar 2020 | DR-4482 | Major disaster | Biological | Covid-19 Pandemic | Individual assistance, Public assistance |
| 13 Mar 2020 | EM-3428 | Emergency | Biological | Covid-19 | Public assistance |
| 1 Apr 2017 | DR-4308 | Major disaster | Flood | Severe Winter Storms, Flooding, And Mudslides | Public assistance |
| 14 Feb 2017 | DR-4301 | Major disaster | Severe Storm | Severe Winter Storms, Flooding, And Mudslides | Public assistance |
| 13 Mar 2007 | DR-1689 | Major disaster | Freezing | Severe Freeze | Individual assistance |
| 5 Jun 2006 | DR-1646 | Major disaster | Severe Storm | Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides | Public assistance |
| 13 Sep 2005 | EM-3248 | Emergency | Hurricane | Hurricane Katrina Evacuation | Public assistance |
| 9 Feb 1999 | DR-1267 | Major disaster | Freezing | Ca-Citrus Crop Damage 2/2/99 | Individual assistance |
| 9 Feb 1998 | DR-1203 | Major disaster | Severe Storm | Severe Winter Storms And Flooding | Individual assistance, Public assistance |
| 4 Jan 1997 | DR-1155 | Major disaster | Severe Storm | Severe Storms, Flooding, Mud And Landslides | Individual assistance, Public assistance |
| 12 Mar 1995 | DR-1046 | Major disaster | Severe Storm | Severe Winter Storms, Flooding Landslides, Mud Flow | Individual assistance, Public assistance |
| 11 Feb 1991 | DR-894 | Major disaster | Freezing | Severe Freeze | Individual assistance |
| 9 Feb 1983 | DR-677 | Major disaster | Coastal Storm | Coastal Storms, Floods, Slides & Tornadoes | Individual assistance, Public assistance |
| 20 Jan 1977 | EM-3023 | Emergency | Drought | Drought | Public assistance |
| 26 Jan 1969 | DR-253 | Major disaster | Flood | Severe Storms & Flooding | Individual assistance, Public assistance |
Declarations in which FEMA designated this county, from the OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries (v2). DR: major disaster; EM: emergency; FM: fire management assistance. Programs show whether individual or public assistance was made available.
Flood insurance claims
| Year of loss | Claims | Paid claims | Amount paid | Average paid |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 3 | 1 | $6,516 | $6,516 |
| 2025 | 2 | 1 | $21,647 | $21,647 |
| 2024 | 4 | 1 | $10,652 | $10,652 |
| 2023 | 203 | 162 | $10,114,165 | $62,433 |
| 2022 | 4 | 2 | $36,481 | $18,241 |
| 2021 | 3 | 1 | $5,111 | $5,111 |
| 2020 | 1 | 0 | $0 | — |
| 2018 | 8 | 5 | $128,885 | $25,777 |
| 2017 | 9 | 7 | $105,657 | $15,094 |
| 2016 | 5 | 2 | $8,059 | $4,030 |
| 2014 | 2 | 1 | $3,593 | $3,593 |
| 2013 | 1 | 0 | $0 | — |
| 2012 | 4 | 0 | $0 | — |
| 2010 | 1 | 1 | $2,569 | $2,569 |
| 2008 | 1 | 1 | $6,884 | $6,884 |
| 2007 | 2 | 1 | $1,918 | $1,918 |
| 2006 | 102 | 81 | $2,390,329 | $29,510 |
| 2005 | 12 | 7 | $56,413 | $8,059 |
| 2004 | 1 | 0 | $0 | — |
| 2002 | 3 | 0 | $0 | — |
| 2001 | 2 | 0 | $0 | — |
| 2000 | 3 | 0 | $0 | — |
| 1999 | 4 | 0 | $0 | — |
| 1998 | 94 | 69 | $1,676,831 | $24,302 |
| 1997 | 2 | 1 | $22,857 | $22,857 |
OpenFEMA NFIP claims (v3, as of 8 Sep 2026), aggregated by year of loss; amounts are building, contents and increased-cost-of-compliance payments as recorded. Repetitive-loss counts from the NFIP Multiple Loss Properties file (2 Aug 2026); policies in force from the NFIP Residential Penetration Rates file (3 Aug 2026).
National Risk Index
| Hazard (NRI) | Risk rating | Expected annual loss |
|---|---|---|
| Drought | $70,182,596 | |
| Earthquake | $62,384,732 | |
| Inland flooding | $58,822,126 | |
| Heat wave | $10,173,707 | |
| Wildfire | $1,572,654 | |
| Lightning | $738,814 | |
| Hail | $402,764 | |
| Tornado | $321,805 | |
| Strong wind | $151,371 | |
| Winter weather | $13,956 | |
| Landslide | $1,520 | |
| Volcanic activity | $10 | |
| Avalanche | $1 |
FEMA National Risk Index, December 2025 release. Ratings are FEMA's relative comparison of counties; expected annual loss is FEMA's modelled estimate of average yearly building, population and agriculture loss. See how to read the NRI.
Hurricane and tropical storm passes
No HURDAT2 track at tropical-storm strength passes within 100 miles of the county's centre point (through the 2025 season).
ZIP codes with flood claims
ZIP codes whose NFIP claims carry this county's code, with the number of claims. Five or more claims are needed for a ZIP page to be indexed.
Questions and answers
How often does it hail in Merced County, CA?
NCEI records 11 hail events in Merced County since 1950, in 7 different years; that is about 0.1 recorded events a year. 1 reports were golf-ball size (1.75 in) or larger.
Has Merced County had a tornado?
Yes. NCEI records 17 tornadoes in Merced County since 1950, 0 of them rated (E)F2 or stronger. Tornado deaths recorded: 0.
When was the last federal disaster declaration for Merced County?
3 Apr 2023: Severe Winter Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides, a major disaster declaration for severe storm. The county appears in 19 declarations since 1953.
How many flood insurance claims have been filed in Merced County, and how much was paid?
499 NFIP claims since 1978, 352 of them paid, for $15M in total. FEMA publishes these figures redacted and aggregated; individual properties are not identified.
Is Merced County in the National Risk Index's high-risk band?
FEMA's National Risk Index (December 2025) rates the county "Relatively High" for overall risk, "Relatively High" for expected annual loss, "Relatively High" for social vulnerability and "Very Low" for community resilience. These ratings are FEMA's relative comparison across all US counties.
How does Merced County compare with the rest of California?
12.8 recorded events per 100 square miles against 26.2 statewide, and 1.7 NFIP claims per 1,000 residents against 1.4. The comparison table on this page shows each measure beside the state and national figures.
Provenance
Storm events: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, yearly details files through 30 Jun 2026 (public domain). Declarations: OpenFEMA DisasterDeclarationsSummaries v2, refreshed 1 Oct 2026. Flood claims: OpenFEMA NfipClaims v3 as of 8 Sep 2026; NfipMultipleLossProperties v1 (2 Aug 2026); NfipResidentialPenetrationRates v1 (3 Aug 2026). Risk index: FEMA National Risk Index, December 2025. Hurricane tracks: NHC HURDAT2 through 2025. Population and area: US Census Bureau, 2021 vintage. Built 1 Oct 2026; see the methodology and corrections pages. Hazard hubs: Hail · Tornado · Flood · Wind · Winter.