States › California › 2015
California, 2015
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 2015 was 1,121 against 1,112 in 2014.
Counties with the most recorded events
Notable events
| Date | County | Event type | Magnitude | Property damage | Deaths | Injuries |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13 Jan 2015 | Forecast zone | Dense Fog | — | $40,000 | 5 | 3 |
| 12 Sep 2015 | Forecast zone | Wildfire | — | — | 4 | 4 |
| 9 Sep 2015 | Forecast zone | Wildfire | — | — | 2 | 1 |
| 28 Jan 2015 | Forecast zone | Dense Fog | — | — | 1 | 2 |
| 29 Jan 2015 | Forecast zone | Dense Fog | — | — | 1 | 1 |
| 14 Jan 2015 | Forecast zone | Dense Fog | — | $60,000 | 1 | — |
| 9 Dec 2015 | Forecast zone | Heavy Snow | — | $25,000 | 1 | — |
| 18 Feb 2015 | Forecast zone | Dense Fog | — | — | 1 | — |
| 30 Jul 2015 | Modoc | Wildfire | — | — | 1 | — |
| 18 Jul 2015 | Kern | Lightning | — | — | 1 | — |
| 8 Sep 2015 | San Bernardino | Flash Flood | — | — | 1 | — |
| 10 Nov 2015 | Forecast zone | Avalanche | — | — | 1 | — |
| 8 Dec 2015 | Forecast zone | Dense Fog | — | — | 1 | — |
| 2 Nov 2015 | Forecast zone | Dust Storm | — | — | — | 15 |
| 19 Jul 2015 | Riverside | Flash Flood | — | $50,000,000 | — | 1 |
| 25 Jul 2015 | Forecast zone | Wildfire | — | — | — | 6 |
| 6 Aug 2015 | Riverside | Tornado | EF1 | $18,000,000 | — | 2 |
| 18 Oct 2015 | Inyo | Flash Flood | — | $25,000,000 | — | — |
| 26 Jan 2015 | San Bernardino | Heavy Rain | — | $50,000 | — | 2 |
| 10 Jun 2015 | Inyo | Flash Flood | — | $1,000 | — | 2 |
| 13 Jan 2015 | Forecast zone | Dense Fog | — | — | — | 2 |
| 13 Jan 2015 | Forecast zone | Dense Fog | — | — | — | 2 |
| 19 Feb 2015 | Forecast zone | Dense Fog | — | — | — | 2 |
| 3 Oct 2015 | Forecast zone | Cold/Wind Chill | — | — | — | 2 |
| 26 Dec 2015 | Forecast zone | Strong Wind | 30 mph | — | — | 2 |
| 3 Dec 2015 | Mono | Strong Wind | 38 mph | $500,000 | — | 1 |
| 23 Jul 2015 | Forecast zone | Wildfire | — | $25,000 | — | 1 |
| 23 Sep 2015 | Forecast zone | Heat | — | — | — | 1 |
| 17 Jul 2015 | San Bernardino | Lightning | — | — | — | 1 |
| 5 Oct 2015 | San Bernardino | Flash Flood | — | $3,000,000 | — | — |
| 14 Sep 2015 | San Bernardino | Thunderstorm Wind | 60 mph | $1,200,000 | — | — |
| 15 Nov 2015 | Stanislaus | Tornado | EF1 | $1,000,000 | — | — |
| 13 Apr 2015 | Forecast zone | Strong Wind | 45 mph | $1,000,000 | — | — |
| 2 Nov 2015 | Butte | Thunderstorm Wind | 60 mph | $1,000,000 | — | — |
| 24 Dec 2015 | El Dorado | Tornado | EF1 | $1,000,000 | — | — |
| 17 Jun 2015 | Forecast zone | Wildfire | — | $900,000 | — | — |
| 15 Sep 2015 | San Diego | Flash Flood | — | $800,000 | — | — |
| 3 Jul 2015 | Plumas | Thunderstorm Wind | 49 mph | $525,000 | — | — |
| 27 Jul 2015 | Forecast zone | Wildfire | — | $500,000 | — | — |
| 6 Feb 2015 | Forecast zone | Strong Wind | 52 mph | $500,000 | — | — |
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 2015
| Declared | Number | Type | Incident | Title | Counties |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 22 Sep 2015 | DR-4240 | Major disaster | Fire | Valley Fire And Butte Fire | 2 |
| 13 Sep 2015 | FM-5112 | Fire management assistance | Fire | Valley Fire | 3 |
| 10 Sep 2015 | FM-5111 | Fire management assistance | Fire | Butte Fire | 2 |
| 2 Aug 2015 | FM-5093 | Fire management assistance | Fire | Rocky Fire | 1 |
| 23 Jul 2015 | FM-5091 | Fire management assistance | Fire | Wragg Fire | 3 |
| 17 Jul 2015 | FM-5089 | Fire management assistance | Fire | North Fire | 1 |
| 27 Jan 2015 | DR-4206 | Major disaster | Flood | Severe Storms, Flooding, And Mudslides | 0 |
Flood insurance claims with a 2015 date of loss
125 NFIP claims, 56 of them paid, for $1,461,649.
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.