States › California › 1988
California, 1988
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 1988 was 16 against 13 in 1987.
Counties with the most recorded events
Notable events
| Date | County | Event type | Magnitude | Property damage | Deaths | Injuries |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19 Apr 1988 | Sacramento | Tornado | F1 | $250,000 | — | — |
| 19 Apr 1988 | San Joaquin | Tornado | F1 | $25,000 | — | — |
| 18 Jan 1988 | Orange | Tornado | F0 | $25,000 | — | — |
| 20 Apr 1988 | Kern | Tornado | F0 | $2,500 | — | — |
| 18 Jan 1988 | Orange | Tornado | F0 | $250 | — | — |
| 1 Mar 1988 | Tulare | 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 1988
| Declared | Number | Type | Incident | Title | Counties |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 29 Sep 1988 | DR-815 | Major disaster | Fire | Wildfires | 4 |
| 13 Sep 1988 | FM-2071 | Fire management assistance | Fire | Forty Niner Fire | 0 |
| 5 Feb 1988 | DR-812 | Major disaster | Flood | Severe Storms, High Tides & Flooding | 5 |
Flood insurance claims with a 1988 date of loss
499 NFIP claims, 300 of them paid, for $4,118,279.
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.