County Hazards

Storm events on record through

Flood events in Orange County, California The flood events on record, by date and by year

This page is a county record of past events and claims. It does not show the flood zone or the risk of an address. For the flood map of an address, use FEMA's address search (opens in a new tab).

NCEI has 138 flood events on record for Orange County, California, from 1996 through 30 Jun 2026.

The newest flood event on record is on 16 Feb 2026.

From 2016 through 2025, NCEI has 73 flood events on record for the county.

The NWS collects event reports from a variety of sources, which include (but are not limited to): county, state, and federal emergency management officials, local law enforcement officials, SKYWARN spotters, NWS damage surveys, newspaper clipping services, the insurance industry, and the general public, among others.

The National Weather Service reports property and crop damage estimates using available data at the time of event reporting. These values should therefore be considered broad estimates. Damage amounts are not adjusted for inflation.

Zone (NWS Forecast Zone): A zone is a geographic area defined by the NWS for issuing forecasts, watches, and warnings. While zones often align with counties, they can also represent smaller or subdivided areas within a county to account for differences in weather conditions, such as elevation or proximity to water. Larger-scale events—such as heat, cold, drought, and winter storms—are typically recorded by zone.

The words of the agency. Source: NOAA NCEI, Storm Events Database, page "Frequently Asked Questions", copied on .

Date of the data: NCEI storm events through . Event types on this page: Flood, Flash Flood, Coastal Flood, Lakeshore Flood.

Newest flood events on record

Flood

2 miles WNW of HUNTINGTON BEACH

Flood

2 miles WNW of HUNTINGTON BEACH

Flood

2 miles E of KATHRYN

Flood

2 miles WNW of HUNTINGTON BEACH

Flash Flood

1 mile WNW of WESTMINSTER

Flood

1 mile S of IRVINE

Flood

2 miles SE of SUNSET BEACH

Flood

22 miles ESE of SAN JUAN HOT SPGS

Flood

1 mile W of (SNA)SANTA ANA CO AR

Flood

1 mile W of (SNA)SANTA ANA CO AR

Flood

1 mile WSW of (SNA)SANTA ANA CO AR

Flood

1 mile WSW of (SNA)SANTA ANA CO AR

Flood

2 miles NNW of WESTMINSTER

Flood

1 mile W of DYER

Flood

1 mile SW of IRVINE

Flood

1 mile E of GALIVAN

Flood

2 miles ENE of MISSION VIEJO

Flood

1 mile N of LIBERTY PARK

Flood

1 mile E of DISNEYLAND

Flood

2 miles SW of IRVINE

Flood

1 mile W of OLIVE

Flood

2 miles WSW of MIDWAY CITY

Flash Flood

2 miles NNW of SEAL BEACH

Flash Flood

1 mile NE of TALBERT

Flood

2 miles WNW of HUNTINGTON BEACH

A place is the text of the NCEI record: a distance and a direction from a reference place. The site does not show a place text that names a private property or reads as a person. NCEI gives no magnitude for this hazard.

Flood events by year

Flood events on record for Orange County by year, 1950 to 2026
DecadeYear that ends in 0Year that ends in 1Year that ends in 2Year that ends in 3Year that ends in 4Year that ends in 5Year that ends in 6Year that ends in 7Year that ends in 8Year that ends in 9All
1950s00000000000
1960s00000000000
1970s00000000000
1980s00000000000
1990s000000027110
2000s4943512015043
2010s200134255729
2020s7105911122 (part of the year)56

A darker cell has a larger count. The number is in each cell.

Flood and flash flood events are on record from 1996. The year 2026 has the events through 30 Jun 2026 only.

By month, all years

  1. Jan26 events
  2. Feb42 events
  3. Mar15 events
  4. Apr7 events
  5. May5 events
  6. Jun0 events
  7. Jul0 events
  8. Aug0 events
  9. Sep5 events
  10. Oct2 events
  11. Nov12 events
  12. Dec24 events

Beside the other counties

Flood events on record: Orange County beside the total of the counties of California and of the United States
MeasureOrangeAll counties of CaliforniaAll counties of the United States
Flood events, 1996 to 20261386,810177,902
Events for each 100 square miles17.44.45.0
Events for each 10,000 residents0.41.75.4

The columns for the state and the United States total the counties. They count the events of each county in the same way as the county column. A forecast zone with another name than a county counts for the state only.

More flood events on record

Flood events on record for Orange County, newest first, without the 25 newest events above
DateEvent typeMagnitudeDamage estimateDeathsInjuriesOn record for
Floodnot recordednone00County
Floodnot recordednone00County
Flash Floodnot recorded$10 thousand00County
Floodnot recordednone00County
Floodnot recordednone00County
Floodnot recordednone00County
Flash Floodnot recordednone00County
Floodnot recordednone00County
Floodnot recordednone00County
Floodnot recordednone00County
Flash Floodnot recordednone00County
Flash Floodnot recordednone00County
Floodnot recordednone00County
Floodnot recordednone00County
Floodnot recordednone00County
Floodnot recordednone00County
Floodnot recordednone00County
Floodnot recordednone00County
Flash Floodnot recorded$800 thousand00County
Floodnot recordednone00County
Floodnot recordednone00County
Flash Floodnot recorded$75 thousand00County
Floodnot recordednone00County
Flash Floodnot recordednone00County
Flash Floodnot recordednone00County
Floodnot recordednone00County
Floodnot recordednone00County
Floodnot recordednone00County
Floodnot recordednone00County
Floodnot recordednone00County
Flash Floodnot recorded$25 thousand00County
Flash Floodnot recordednone00County
Floodnot recordednone00County
Floodnot recordednone00County
Floodnot recordednone00County
Flash Floodnot recorded$80 thousand00County
Flash Floodnot recordednone00County
Flash Floodnot recordednone00County
Flash Floodnot recordednone00County
Flash Floodnot recordednone00County
Flash Floodnot recorded$5 thousand00County
Flash Floodnot recordednone00County
Floodnot recorded$5 thousand00County
Floodnot recordednone00County
Flash Floodnot recorded$50 thousand00County
Floodnot recorded$30 thousand00County
Flash Floodnot recorded$100 thousand00County
Floodnot recordednone00County
Flash Floodnot recordednone00County
Flash Floodnot recordednone00County
Flash Floodnot recordednone00County
Flash Floodnot recordednone00County
Floodnot recordednone00County
Flash Floodnot recordednone00County
Floodnot recordednone00County
Floodnot recordednone00County
Floodnot recordednone00County
Floodnot recordednone00County
Flash Floodnot recorded$12 million00County
Floodnot recorded$36 million00County
Flash Floodnot recorded$10 thousand00County
Flash Floodnot recorded$500 thousand00County
Flash Floodnot recorded$5 thousand00County
Flash Floodnot recorded$150 thousand00County
Flash Floodnot recorded$40 thousand00County
Flash Floodnot recordednone00County
Flash Floodnot recorded$5 thousand00County
Flash Floodnot recorded$30 thousand00County
Flash Floodnot recorded$100 thousand00County
Flash Floodnot recorded$20 thousand00County
Flash Floodnot recorded$15 thousand00County
Flash Floodnot recorded$60 thousand00County
Flash Floodnot recorded$300 thousand00County
Flash Floodnot recorded$500 thousand00County
Flash Floodnot recorded$50 thousand00County
Flash Floodnot recorded$10 thousand00County
Flash Floodnot recorded$5 thousand00County
Flash Floodnot recordednone00County
Flash Floodnot recorded$15 thousand00County
Flash Floodnot recorded$25 thousand00County
Flash Floodnot recorded$30 thousand00County
Flash Floodnot recorded$15 thousand00County
Flash Floodnot recorded$75 thousand00County
Flash Floodnot recorded$35 thousand00County
Flash Floodnot recordednone00County
Floodnot recordednone00County
Floodnot recorded$150 thousand00County
Floodnot recorded$150 thousand00County
Floodnot recordednone00County
Floodnot recordednone00County
Floodnot recordednone00County
Floodnot recordednone00County
Floodnot recordednone00County
Floodnot recordednone00County
Floodnot recorded$60 thousand00County
Floodnot recordednone00County
Flash Floodnot recorded$1.0 million00County
Floodnot recordednone00County
Floodnot recordednone03County
Floodnot recorded$30 thousand00County
Floodnot recordednone00County
Floodnot recorded$20 thousand00County
Flash Floodnot recorded$20 thousand00County
Floodnot recordednone00County
Floodnot recordednone00County
Flash Floodnot recorded$30 million22County
Floodnot recordednone00County
Floodnot recordednone00County
Floodnot recorded$4.5 million00County
Flash Floodnot recorded$1.1 million00County
Floodnot recordednone00County
Flash Floodnot recorded$18 million00County
Floodnot recordednone00County

The table has all other events on record. A damage figure is an estimate in the NCEI record.

Official channels

These links open the pages of the agencies. The site checked the links on .

Cite this page

County Hazards. "Flood events on record for Orange County, California". https://countyhazards.com/county/ca/orange/flood/. Data: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database through 30 Jun 2026. Page made on .

Questions

Which month has the most flood events on record for Orange County?
February has 42 of the 138 flood events on record from 1996 through 30 Jun 2026.
How many flood events are on record for California?
NCEI has 7,136 flood events on record for California from 1996 through 30 Jun 2026. That count has every forecast zone of the state.
How does Orange County compare with the other counties of California?
The counties of California have 4.4 flood events for each 100 square miles. Orange County has 17.4.