States › California › 1986
California, 1986
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 1986 was 23 against 8 in 1985.
Counties with the most recorded events
Notable events
| Date | County | Event type | Magnitude | Property damage | Deaths | Injuries |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 24 Sep 1986 | Tehama | Tornado | F2 | $2,500,000 | — | 1 |
| 16 Mar 1986 | Orange | Tornado | F1 | $2,500,000 | — | — |
| 15 Feb 1986 | Tulare | Tornado | F0 | $250,000 | — | — |
| 19 Feb 1986 | Merced | Tornado | F0 | $25,000 | — | — |
| 3 Feb 1986 | Santa Cruz | Tornado | F0 | $2,500 | — | — |
| 8 Mar 1986 | Fresno | Tornado | F1 | $2,500 | — | — |
| 10 Mar 1986 | San Mateo | Tornado | F0 | $30 | — | — |
| 21 Jul 1986 | San Bernardino | Tornado | F0 | — | — | — |
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 1986
| Declared | Number | Type | Incident | Title | Counties |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 21 Feb 1986 | DR-758 | Major disaster | Flood | Severe Storms & Flooding | 39 |
Flood insurance claims with a 1986 date of loss
2,627 NFIP claims, 2,097 of them paid, for $35,554,143.
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.