States › California › 2008
California, 2008
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 2008 was 1,132 against 852 in 2007.
Counties with the most recorded events
Notable events
| Date | County | Event type | Magnitude | Property damage | Deaths | Injuries |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 Nov 2008 | Forecast zone | Strong Wind | 53 mph | $1,000,000 | 4 | — |
| 25 Jan 2008 | Forecast zone | Avalanche | — | — | 3 | 3 |
| 9 Jul 2008 | Forecast zone | Heat | — | — | 2 | 2 |
| 10 Oct 2008 | Forecast zone | Winter Weather | — | $10,000 | 2 | — |
| 9 Jul 2008 | Forecast zone | Excessive Heat | — | — | 2 | — |
| 1 Jul 2008 | Forecast zone | Wildfire | — | — | 1 | 65 |
| 1 Nov 2008 | Alameda | Heavy Rain | — | $15,000 | 1 | 5 |
| 4 Jan 2008 | Forecast zone | High Wind | 69 mph | $7,110,000 | 1 | 1 |
| 5 Jan 2008 | San Bernardino | Flash Flood | — | $10,000 | 1 | 1 |
| 24 Dec 2008 | Forecast zone | Winter Storm | — | — | 1 | 1 |
| 9 Jul 2008 | Forecast zone | Heat | — | — | 1 | 1 |
| 16 Dec 2008 | Sonoma | Heavy Rain | — | $25,000 | 1 | — |
| 15 Dec 2008 | Santa Cruz | Heavy Rain | — | $15,000 | 1 | — |
| 25 Aug 2008 | San Bernardino | Flash Flood | — | $10,000 | 1 | — |
| 25 Dec 2008 | Forecast zone | Avalanche | — | — | 1 | — |
| 23 Nov 2008 | Forecast zone | Dense Fog | — | — | 1 | — |
| 22 Jul 2008 | Forecast zone | Wildfire | — | — | 1 | — |
| 15 May 2008 | Forecast zone | Heat | — | — | 1 | — |
| 3 Oct 2008 | Forecast zone | Winter Weather | — | — | 1 | — |
| 15 Nov 2008 | Forecast zone | Wildfire | — | $150,000,000 | — | 14 |
| 15 Dec 2008 | Orange | Heavy Rain | — | $250,000 | — | 14 |
| 26 Apr 2008 | San Bernardino | Dust Devil | — | $2,500 | — | 14 |
| 21 Jun 2008 | Forecast zone | Wildfire | — | — | — | 12 |
| 11 Feb 2008 | Forecast zone | Dense Fog | — | $2,000,000 | — | 10 |
| 11 Feb 2008 | Forecast zone | Dense Fog | — | $2,000,000 | — | 10 |
| 11 Feb 2008 | Forecast zone | Dense Fog | — | $2,000,000 | — | 10 |
| 11 Jun 2008 | Forecast zone | Wildfire | — | — | — | 8 |
| 21 Jun 2008 | Forecast zone | Wildfire | — | — | — | 6 |
| 21 Jun 2008 | Forecast zone | Wildfire | — | — | — | 6 |
| 1 Dec 2008 | Forecast zone | Dense Fog | — | — | — | 5 |
| 13 Apr 2008 | Forecast zone | Heat | — | — | — | 5 |
| 14 Feb 2008 | Forecast zone | Winter Storm | — | $250,000 | — | 4 |
| 25 Dec 2008 | Forecast zone | Strong Wind | 55 mph | $35,000 | — | 4 |
| 17 Dec 2008 | San Diego | Flash Flood | — | $250,000 | — | 3 |
| 25 Jul 2008 | Forecast zone | Wildfire | — | $25,000,000 | — | — |
| 4 Jan 2008 | Forecast zone | High Wind | 75 mph | $4,500,000 | — | 2 |
| 25 Dec 2008 | Forecast zone | Strong Wind | 55 mph | $40,000 | — | 2 |
| 12 Jul 2008 | Inyo | Flash Flood | — | $10,000,000 | — | 1 |
| 30 Aug 2008 | Riverside | Hail | 1.50 in | — | — | 2 |
| 1 Jul 2008 | Forecast zone | Wildfire | — | — | — | 2 |
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 2008
| Declared | Number | Type | Incident | Title | Counties |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18 Nov 2008 | DR-1810 | Major disaster | Fire | Wildfires | 4 |
| 15 Nov 2008 | FM-2792 | Fire management assistance | Fire | Freeway Fire Complex | 4 |
| 15 Nov 2008 | FM-2791 | Fire management assistance | Fire | Sayre Fire | 1 |
| 14 Nov 2008 | FM-2790 | Fire management assistance | Fire | Tea Fire | 1 |
| 13 Oct 2008 | FM-2789 | Fire management assistance | Fire | Sesnon Fire | 1 |
| 12 Oct 2008 | FM-2788 | Fire management assistance | Fire | Marek Fire | 1 |
| 2 Sep 2008 | FM-2786 | Fire management assistance | Fire | Gladding Fire | 1 |
| 8 Jul 2008 | FM-2782 | Fire management assistance | Fire | Camp Fire | 1 |
| 4 Jul 2008 | FM-2781 | Fire management assistance | Fire | Basin Fire Complex | 1 |
| 4 Jul 2008 | FM-2780 | Fire management assistance | Fire | Gap Fire | 1 |
| 28 Jun 2008 | EM-3287 | Emergency | Fire | Wildfires | 11 |
| 22 Jun 2008 | FM-2776 | Fire management assistance | Fire | Wild Fire | 2 |
| 20 Jun 2008 | FM-2775 | Fire management assistance | Fire | Trabing Fire | 1 |
| 11 Jun 2008 | FM-2772 | Fire management assistance | Fire | Martin Fire | 1 |
| 11 Jun 2008 | FM-2771 | Fire management assistance | Fire | Humboldt Fire | 1 |
| 10 Jun 2008 | FM-2770 | Fire management assistance | Fire | Ophir Fire | 1 |
| 22 May 2008 | FM-2766 | Fire management assistance | Fire | Summit Fire | 2 |
| 27 Apr 2008 | FM-2763 | Fire management assistance | Fire | Santa Anita Fire | 1 |
Flood insurance claims with a 2008 date of loss
274 NFIP claims, 162 of them paid, for $3,738,615.
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.