States › California › 2016
California, 2016
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 2016 was 1,276 against 1,121 in 2015.
Counties with the most recorded events
Notable events
| Date | County | Event type | Magnitude | Property damage | Deaths | Injuries |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15 Oct 2016 | Mono | Strong Wind | 40 mph | — | 3 | — |
| 31 Dec 2016 | Forecast zone | Dense Fog | — | $100,000 | 2 | 10 |
| 19 Jun 2016 | Forecast zone | Wildfire | — | $4,000,000 | 2 | — |
| 13 Feb 2016 | Forecast zone | Dense Fog | — | — | 2 | — |
| 23 Jun 2016 | Forecast zone | Wildfire | — | — | 2 | — |
| 31 Jan 2016 | San Diego | Thunderstorm Wind | 60 mph | $75,000 | 1 | 2 |
| 3 Dec 2016 | Forecast zone | Strong Wind | 40 mph | — | 1 | 1 |
| 16 Dec 2016 | Forecast zone | Dense Fog | — | $15,000 | 1 | — |
| 27 Aug 2016 | Forecast zone | Heat | — | — | 1 | — |
| 14 Jan 2016 | Forecast zone | Avalanche | — | — | 1 | — |
| 13 Mar 2016 | Forecast zone | Heavy Snow | — | — | 1 | — |
| 10 Jun 2016 | Forecast zone | Strong Wind | 25 mph | — | 1 | — |
| 6 Jun 2016 | Forecast zone | Heat | — | — | 1 | — |
| 25 Sep 2016 | Forecast zone | Heat | — | — | 1 | — |
| 20 Nov 2016 | Fresno | Heavy Rain | — | — | 1 | — |
| 10 Dec 2016 | Forecast zone | Avalanche | — | — | 1 | — |
| 16 Aug 2016 | Forecast zone | Wildfire | — | $50,000,000 | — | 2 |
| 23 Apr 2016 | Forecast zone | High Wind | 81 mph | — | — | 6 |
| 19 Jun 2016 | Forecast zone | Heat | — | — | — | 3 |
| 5 Sep 2016 | Forecast zone | Wildfire | — | — | — | 3 |
| 22 Jan 2016 | Santa Cruz | Debris Flow | — | $5,000 | — | 2 |
| 20 Jun 2016 | Forecast zone | Heat | — | — | — | 2 |
| 31 Jan 2016 | Forecast zone | High Wind | 60 mph | $250,000 | — | 1 |
| 18 Jul 2016 | Forecast zone | Wildfire | — | $50,000 | — | 1 |
| 10 Apr 2016 | San Bernardino | Flash Flood | — | $10,000 | — | 1 |
| 10 Dec 2016 | Nevada | Debris Flow | — | $2,000 | — | 1 |
| 28 Jan 2016 | Forecast zone | Dense Fog | — | — | — | 1 |
| 28 Oct 2016 | Santa Clara | Flood | — | — | — | 1 |
| 1 Jun 2016 | Forecast zone | Heat | — | — | — | 1 |
| 24 Oct 2016 | San Diego | Lightning | — | — | — | 1 |
| 13 Aug 2016 | Forecast zone | Wildfire | — | $1,500,000 | — | — |
| 14 Dec 2016 | Humboldt | Heavy Rain | — | $1,500,000 | — | — |
| 15 Dec 2016 | Mendocino | Flood | — | $1,500,000 | — | — |
| 5 May 2016 | Merced | Lightning | — | $1,000,000 | — | — |
| 24 Oct 2016 | Forecast zone | Strong Wind | 35 mph | $1,000,000 | — | — |
| 14 Dec 2016 | Humboldt | Heavy Rain | — | $1,000,000 | — | — |
| 14 Dec 2016 | Del Norte | Flood | — | $583,700 | — | — |
| 11 Apr 2016 | San Diego | Flash Flood | — | $350,000 | — | — |
| 2 Dec 2016 | Forecast zone | High Wind | 70 mph | $250,000 | — | — |
| 17 Feb 2016 | Forecast zone | Strong Wind | 49 mph | $200,000 | — | — |
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 2016
| Declared | Number | Type | Incident | Title | Counties |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 22 Aug 2016 | FM-5150 | Fire management assistance | Fire | Cedar Fire | 2 |
| 16 Aug 2016 | FM-5147 | Fire management assistance | Fire | Blue Cut Fire | 1 |
| 14 Aug 2016 | FM-5146 | Fire management assistance | Fire | Chimney Fire | 1 |
| 14 Aug 2016 | FM-5145 | Fire management assistance | Fire | Clayton Fire | 1 |
| 8 Aug 2016 | FM-5144 | Fire management assistance | Fire | Pilot Fire | 1 |
| 31 Jul 2016 | FM-5140 | Fire management assistance | Fire | Goose Fire | 1 |
| 28 Jul 2016 | FM-5137 | Fire management assistance | Fire | Soberanes Fire | 1 |
| 23 Jul 2016 | FM-5135 | Fire management assistance | Fire | Sand Fire | 1 |
| 9 Jul 2016 | FM-5132 | Fire management assistance | Fire | Sage Fire | 1 |
| 24 Jun 2016 | FM-5131 | Fire management assistance | Fire | Erskine Fire | 1 |
| 21 Jun 2016 | FM-5129 | Fire management assistance | Fire | Fish Fire | 1 |
| 19 Jun 2016 | FM-5128 | Fire management assistance | Fire | Border 3 Fire | 1 |
| 5 Jun 2016 | FM-5124 | Fire management assistance | Fire | Old Fire | 1 |
Flood insurance claims with a 2016 date of loss
426 NFIP claims, 216 of them paid, for $5,581,608.
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.