States › California › 1978
California, 1978
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 1978 was 20 against 6 in 1977.
Counties with the most recorded events
| County | Events in 1978 |
|---|---|
| Orange County | 3 |
| Sacramento County | 3 |
| Tehama County | 3 |
| Butte County | 3 |
| Stanislaus County | 2 |
| Los Angeles County | 2 |
| Merced County | 1 |
| San Joaquin County | 1 |
| Riverside County | 1 |
| San Diego County | 1 |
Notable events
| Date | County | Event type | Magnitude | Property damage | Deaths | Injuries |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 Feb 1978 | Orange | Tornado | F3 | $2,500,000 | — | 6 |
| 4 Mar 1978 | Merced | Tornado | F1 | $250,000 | — | 1 |
| 7 Feb 1978 | Sacramento | Tornado | F2 | $250,000 | — | — |
| 1 Mar 1978 | Stanislaus | Tornado | — | $25,000 | — | — |
| 4 Mar 1978 | Stanislaus | Tornado | — | $25,000 | — | — |
| 23 Mar 1978 | Butte | Tornado | — | $25,000 | — | — |
| 31 Mar 1978 | San Joaquin | Tornado | — | $25,000 | — | — |
| 18 Dec 1978 | San Diego | Tornado | — | $25,000 | — | — |
| 4 Mar 1978 | Butte | Tornado | — | $2,500 | — | — |
| 5 Mar 1978 | Tehama | Tornado | — | $2,500 | — | — |
| 4 Jan 1978 | Los Angeles | Tornado | — | $30 | — | — |
| 5 Mar 1978 | Tehama | Tornado | — | $30 | — | — |
| 5 Mar 1978 | Tehama | Tornado | — | $30 | — | — |
| 10 Feb 1978 | Los Angeles | Tornado | — | — | — | — |
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 1978
| Declared | Number | Type | Incident | Title | Counties |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 29 Oct 1978 | EM-3067 | Emergency | Fire | Brush Fires | 1 |
| 9 Oct 1978 | DR-566 | Major disaster | Flood | Landslides | 1 |
| 15 Feb 1978 | DR-547 | Major disaster | Flood | Coastal Storms, Mudslides & Flooding | 14 |
Flood insurance claims with a 1978 date of loss
1,198 NFIP claims, 754 of them paid, for $3,734,245.
Sources: NOAA NCEI Storm Events through 30 Jun 2026; OpenFEMA DisasterDeclarationsSummaries v2 (29 Sep 2026); OpenFEMA NfipClaims v3 (8 Sep 2026). Built 30 Sep 2026.