States › California › 1996
California, 1996
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 1996 was 384 against 27 in 1995.
Counties with the most recorded events
Notable events
| Date | County | Event type | Magnitude | Property damage | Deaths | Injuries |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15 Aug 1996 | Forecast zone | Heat | — | — | 4 | — |
| 20 Dec 1996 | Forecast zone | Winter Storm | — | $75,000 | 2 | — |
| 19 Nov 1996 | Shasta | Heavy Rain | — | — | 2 | — |
| 14 Dec 1996 | Forecast zone | High Wind | 110 mph | — | 2 | — |
| 14 Dec 1996 | Forecast zone | High Wind | 96 mph | — | 1 | 2 |
| 20 Dec 1996 | Forecast zone | Heavy Snow | — | — | 1 | 2 |
| 19 Dec 1996 | Mariposa | Heavy Rain | — | $4,000 | 1 | 1 |
| 4 Feb 1996 | Napa | Flood | — | — | 1 | — |
| 30 Dec 1996 | Forecast zone | Flood | — | — | 1 | — |
| 16 Dec 1996 | Forecast zone | Dense Fog | — | — | 1 | — |
| 31 Dec 1996 | Sonoma | Flash Flood | — | — | 1 | — |
| 22 Nov 1996 | Tuolumne | Flash Flood | — | — | 1 | — |
| 20 Dec 1996 | Forecast zone | Heavy Snow | — | — | 1 | — |
| 16 Jul 1996 | Forecast zone | High Wind | 40 mph | — | 1 | — |
| 21 Oct 1996 | Los Angeles | Wildfire | — | $1,500,000 | — | 16 |
| 21 Oct 1996 | San Diego | Wildfire | — | $37,400,000 | — | 6 |
| 11 Jan 1996 | Forecast zone | Dense Fog | — | — | — | 6 |
| 7 Oct 1996 | Monterey | Wildfire | — | $4,500,000 | — | 3 |
| 1 May 1996 | Ventura | Wildfire | — | — | — | 3 |
| 3 Feb 1996 | San Francisco | Flood | — | — | — | 2 |
| 14 Dec 1996 | Forecast zone | High Wind | 110 mph | — | — | 2 |
| 21 Dec 1996 | Forecast zone | Avalanche | — | — | — | 2 |
| 23 Aug 1996 | Riverside | Lightning | — | — | — | 2 |
| 28 Apr 1996 | Ventura | Wildfire | — | — | — | 2 |
| 18 Oct 1996 | Monterey | Wildfire | — | $12,300,000 | — | — |
| 23 Dec 1996 | Sonoma | Tornado | F0 | $500 | — | 1 |
| 14 Dec 1996 | Forecast zone | High Wind | 110 mph | — | — | 1 |
| 14 Mar 1996 | Los Angeles | Lightning | — | — | — | 1 |
| 15 Sep 1996 | San Diego | Dust Devil | — | — | — | 1 |
| 7 Dec 1996 | Forecast zone | Flood | — | $7,000,000 | — | — |
| 16 May 1996 | Forecast zone | Flood | — | $5,000,000 | — | — |
| 21 Oct 1996 | Orange | Wildfire | — | $3,000,000 | — | — |
| 23 Jan 1996 | Forecast zone | Flood | — | $1,000,000 | — | — |
| 1 Apr 1996 | San Joaquin | Thunderstorm Wind | — | $1,000,000 | — | — |
| 5 Dec 1996 | Alameda | Heavy Rain | — | $1,000,000 | — | — |
| 5 Dec 1996 | Alameda | Heavy Rain | — | $1,000,000 | — | — |
| 1 Apr 1996 | Merced | Thunderstorm Wind | 92 mph | $230,000 | — | — |
| 22 Nov 1996 | Kings | Tornado | F1 | $250,000 | — | — |
| 23 Dec 1996 | Marin | Tornado | F1 | $200,000 | — | — |
| 23 May 1996 | Fresno | Thunderstorm Wind | 69 mph | $150,000 | — | — |
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 1996
| Declared | Number | Type | Incident | Title | Counties |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 23 Oct 1996 | EM-3120 | Emergency | Fire | Severe Firestorms | 4 |
Flood insurance claims with a 1996 date of loss
940 NFIP claims, 596 of them paid, for $8,318,409.
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.