States › California › 2012
California, 2012
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 2012 was 874 against 804 in 2011.
Counties with the most recorded events
Notable events
| Date | County | Event type | Magnitude | Property damage | Deaths | Injuries |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 27 Nov 2012 | Forecast zone | Dense Fog | — | $300,000 | 3 | — |
| 15 Mar 2012 | Forecast zone | Strong Wind | 40 mph | $12,500 | 1 | 4 |
| 23 Sep 2012 | Forecast zone | Wildfire | — | $3,670,000 | 1 | 3 |
| 16 Mar 2012 | Santa Cruz | Heavy Rain | — | $15,000 | 1 | 3 |
| 22 Dec 2012 | Sonoma | Heavy Rain | — | $30,000 | 1 | 2 |
| 31 Mar 2012 | Humboldt | Thunderstorm Wind | 35 mph | — | 1 | 1 |
| 30 Nov 2012 | Forecast zone | Strong Wind | 55 mph | $50,000 | 1 | — |
| 18 Mar 2012 | Santa Cruz | Heavy Rain | — | $5,000 | 1 | — |
| 21 Jan 2012 | Mariposa | Thunderstorm Wind | 46 mph | $5,000 | 1 | — |
| 13 Mar 2012 | Santa Cruz | Heavy Rain | — | $5,000 | 1 | — |
| 2 Oct 2012 | Forecast zone | Heat | — | — | 1 | — |
| 1 Mar 2012 | Forecast zone | Avalanche | — | — | 1 | — |
| 30 Nov 2012 | Santa Cruz | Flood | — | — | 1 | — |
| 12 May 2012 | Forecast zone | Heat | — | — | 1 | — |
| 24 Dec 2012 | Forecast zone | Avalanche | — | — | 1 | — |
| 20 Dec 2012 | Forecast zone | Winter Storm | — | — | 1 | — |
| 24 Dec 2012 | Forecast zone | Avalanche | — | — | 1 | — |
| 1 Dec 2012 | El Dorado | Heavy Rain | — | — | 1 | — |
| 7 Aug 2012 | Forecast zone | Heat | — | — | 1 | — |
| 21 Oct 2012 | Forecast zone | Winter Storm | — | — | 1 | — |
| 23 Jul 2012 | Nevada | Lightning | — | — | 1 | — |
| 15 Sep 2012 | Forecast zone | Heat | — | — | — | 11 |
| 15 Sep 2012 | Forecast zone | Heat | — | — | — | 8 |
| 14 Aug 2012 | Forecast zone | Wildfire | — | $1,000,000 | — | 6 |
| 30 Jul 2012 | Imperial | Flood | — | $400,000 | — | 5 |
| 14 Mar 2012 | San Mateo | Heavy Rain | — | $50,000 | — | 5 |
| 21 Jan 2012 | Forecast zone | High Wind | 66 mph | $400,000 | — | 4 |
| 12 Aug 2012 | Forecast zone | Wildfire | — | — | — | 4 |
| 1 Aug 2012 | Forecast zone | Wildfire | — | $200,000 | — | 3 |
| 24 May 2012 | Forecast zone | Wildfire | — | — | — | 3 |
| 8 Feb 2012 | Forecast zone | Dense Fog | — | $100,000 | — | 2 |
| 12 Jan 2012 | Forecast zone | Wildfire | — | $20,000 | — | 2 |
| 5 Nov 2012 | Forecast zone | Wildfire | — | $4,000 | — | 2 |
| 9 Aug 2012 | Forecast zone | Wildfire | — | — | — | 2 |
| 11 Sep 2012 | San Bernardino | Lightning | — | — | — | 2 |
| 20 Aug 2012 | Forecast zone | Wildfire | — | — | — | 2 |
| 26 Apr 2012 | Forecast zone | High Wind | 82 mph | $25,000 | — | 1 |
| 6 Sep 2012 | Forecast zone | Wildfire | — | — | — | 1 |
| 13 Aug 2012 | Forecast zone | Heat | — | — | — | 1 |
| 15 Sep 2012 | Forecast zone | Heat | — | — | — | 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 2012
| Declared | Number | Type | Incident | Title | Counties |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 24 Sep 2012 | FM-5021 | Fire management assistance | Fire | Shockey Fire | 1 |
| 19 Aug 2012 | FM-5007 | Fire management assistance | Fire | Ponderosa Fire | 2 |
| 13 Aug 2012 | FM-5004 | Fire management assistance | Fire | Wye Fire | 1 |
Flood insurance claims with a 2012 date of loss
278 NFIP claims, 148 of them paid, for $3,036,708.
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.