States › California › 1959
California, 1959
The year's recorded storm events, federal disaster declarations and flood insurance claims.
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.
Events by hazard
Includes events recorded by forecast zone. The state's yearly total for 1959 was 5 against 35 in 1958.
Counties with the most recorded events
| County | Events in 1959 |
|---|---|
| Los Angeles County | 3 |
| Sonoma County | 1 |
| Sacramento County | 1 |
Notable events
| Date | County | Event type | Magnitude | Property damage | Deaths | Injuries |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 17 Feb 1959 | Sonoma | Tornado | — | $2,500 | — | — |
Up to 40 events with deaths, injuries, damage of $50,000 or more, or a tornado rating, ranked by deaths, injuries and damage.
Federal disaster declarations in 1959
No declaration touching California was made in 1959.
Flood insurance claims with a 1959 date of loss
No NFIP claims in California carry a 1959 date of loss. The NFIP claims file begins with 1978 losses.
Sources: NOAA NCEI Storm Events through 30 Jun 2026; OpenFEMA DisasterDeclarationsSummaries v2 (1 Oct 2026); OpenFEMA NfipClaims v3 (8 Sep 2026). Built 1 Oct 2026.