States › California › 1980
California, 1980
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 1980 was 28 against 10 in 1979.
Counties with the most recorded events
Notable events
| Date | County | Event type | Magnitude | Property damage | Deaths | Injuries |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19 Feb 1980 | Fresno | Tornado | F1 | $2,500,000 | — | 2 |
| 14 Jan 1980 | Stanislaus | Tornado | F1 | $250,000 | — | 1 |
| 5 Apr 1980 | Kings | Tornado | F2 | $250,000 | — | 1 |
| 15 Feb 1980 | Tulare | Tornado | F0 | $25,000 | — | — |
| 20 Feb 1980 | San Diego | Tornado | F1 | $25,000 | — | — |
| 9 May 1980 | Tehama | Tornado | F2 | $25,000 | — | — |
| 28 Jan 1980 | Los Angeles | Tornado | F0 | $2,500 | — | — |
| 5 Apr 1980 | Tulare | Tornado | F2 | $2,500 | — | — |
| 29 Jul 1980 | Calaveras | 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 1980
| Declared | Number | Type | Incident | Title | Counties |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 27 Nov 1980 | DR-635 | Major disaster | Fire | Brush & Timber Fires | 4 |
| 2 Oct 1980 | DR-633 | Major disaster | Flood | Levee Break & Flooding | 1 |
| 21 Feb 1980 | DR-615 | Major disaster | Flood | Severe Storms, Mudslides & Flooding | 8 |
| 1 Feb 1980 | EM-3078 | Emergency | Coastal Storm | Torrential Rain, High Tide & Winds | 3 |
Flood insurance claims with a 1980 date of loss
2,846 NFIP claims, 1,870 of them paid, for $12,410,660.
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.