States › California › 1997
California, 1997
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 1997 was 632 against 384 in 1996.
Counties with the most recorded events
Notable events
| Date | County | Event type | Magnitude | Property damage | Deaths | Injuries |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 Jan 1997 | Forecast zone | Winter Weather | — | — | 14 | — |
| 11 Dec 1997 | Forecast zone | Dense Fog | — | $1,500,000 | 5 | 26 |
| 2 Jan 1997 | Yuba | Flash Flood | — | — | 3 | — |
| 26 Nov 1997 | Forecast zone | Winter Weather | — | — | 3 | — |
| 2 Aug 1997 | Forecast zone | Heat | — | — | 2 | — |
| 19 Dec 1997 | Forecast zone | High Wind | 81 mph | — | 1 | 1 |
| 2 Jan 1997 | Sacramento | Flash Flood | — | $2,400,000 | 1 | — |
| 2 Aug 1997 | Forecast zone | Heat | — | — | 1 | — |
| 2 Aug 1997 | Forecast zone | Heat | — | — | 1 | — |
| 2 Aug 1997 | Forecast zone | Heat | — | — | 1 | — |
| 1 Jan 1997 | Shasta | Flash Flood | — | — | 1 | — |
| 3 Jan 1997 | Forecast zone | Flood | — | — | 1 | — |
| 5 Jan 1997 | Forecast zone | High Wind | 99 mph | — | 1 | — |
| 3 Feb 1997 | San Mateo | Flash Flood | — | — | 1 | — |
| 5 Dec 1997 | Forecast zone | Winter Weather | — | — | 1 | — |
| 10 Dec 1997 | Forecast zone | High Wind | 70 mph | — | 1 | — |
| 18 Sep 1997 | Forecast zone | Heavy Snow | — | — | 1 | — |
| 10 Dec 1997 | Forecast zone | High Wind | 63 mph | — | 1 | — |
| 5 Dec 1997 | Kern | Heavy Rain | — | — | 1 | — |
| 1 Jan 1997 | Forecast zone | Flood | — | $330,000,000 | — | — |
| 1 Jan 1997 | Los Angeles | Storm Surge/Tide | — | — | — | 27 |
| 29 Nov 1997 | Forecast zone | Dense Fog | — | — | — | 20 |
| 19 May 1997 | Fresno | Thunderstorm Wind | 35 mph | $150,000 | — | 15 |
| 3 Sep 1997 | Kern | Flash Flood | — | $5,000,000 | — | 4 |
| 6 Jan 1997 | Forecast zone | High Wind | 99 mph | — | — | 4 |
| 20 Jan 1997 | Los Angeles | Heavy Rain | — | — | — | 4 |
| 7 Oct 1997 | San Bernardino | Flash Flood | — | — | — | 4 |
| 1 Jan 1997 | Forecast zone | Flood | — | $30,300,000 | — | — |
| 30 Oct 1997 | Forecast zone | Dense Fog | — | $150,000 | — | 3 |
| 19 Aug 1997 | San Joaquin | Lightning | — | — | — | 3 |
| 4 Sep 1997 | San Bernardino | Flash Flood | — | $3,450,000 | — | 2 |
| 26 Jul 1997 | Lassen | Lightning | — | — | — | 2 |
| 10 Dec 1997 | Forecast zone | Dense Fog | — | — | — | 2 |
| 6 Dec 1997 | San Diego | Thunderstorm Wind | 58 mph | — | — | 2 |
| 26 Nov 1997 | Forecast zone | Winter Weather | — | — | — | 2 |
| 6 Dec 1997 | Orange | Flash Flood | — | $17,700,000 | — | — |
| 27 Sep 1997 | Yuba | Wildfire | — | $15,000,000 | — | — |
| 30 Jul 1997 | Shasta | Wildfire | — | $2,000,000 | — | — |
| 1 Jan 1997 | Siskiyou | Flood | — | $11,000,000 | — | — |
| 19 Aug 1997 | Kern | Wildfire | — | $400,000 | — | 1 |
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 1997
| Declared | Number | Type | Incident | Title | Counties |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 Jan 1997 | DR-1155 | Major disaster | Severe Storm | Severe Storms, Flooding, Mud And Landslides | 48 |
Flood insurance claims with a 1997 date of loss
3,115 NFIP claims, 2,291 of them paid, for $44,131,543.
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.