States › California › 2020
California, 2020
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 2020 was 1,802 against 2,718 in 2019.
Counties with the most recorded events
Notable events
| Date | County | Event type | Magnitude | Property damage | Deaths | Injuries |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 Sep 2020 | Forecast zone | Wildfire | — | — | 16 | — |
| 14 Nov 2020 | Forecast zone | Dense Fog | — | — | 5 | — |
| 27 Sep 2020 | Forecast zone | Wildfire | — | — | 4 | 1 |
| 17 Aug 2020 | Forecast zone | Wildfire | — | — | 3 | 5 |
| 28 May 2020 | Forecast zone | Cold/Wind Chill | — | — | 3 | — |
| 30 Jun 2020 | Forecast zone | Cold/Wind Chill | — | — | 2 | — |
| 5 Sep 2020 | Forecast zone | Wildfire | — | — | 1 | 13 |
| 16 Aug 2020 | Forecast zone | Wildfire | — | — | 1 | 3 |
| 23 Jan 2020 | Tulare | Dense Fog | — | $100,000 | 1 | 2 |
| 25 Jul 2020 | Sierra | Lightning | — | — | 1 | 1 |
| 17 Jan 2020 | Forecast zone | Avalanche | — | — | 1 | 1 |
| 10 Mar 2020 | San Diego | Flood | — | — | 1 | — |
| 24 Apr 2020 | Forecast zone | Cold/Wind Chill | — | — | 1 | — |
| 23 Jun 2020 | Fresno | Heat | — | — | 1 | — |
| 8 Jul 2020 | Forecast zone | Excessive Heat | — | — | 1 | — |
| 15 Aug 2020 | Forecast zone | Wildfire | — | — | 1 | — |
| 3 Aug 2020 | Forecast zone | Wildfire | — | — | 1 | — |
| 18 Aug 2020 | Forecast zone | Excessive Heat | — | — | 1 | — |
| 17 Aug 2020 | Forecast zone | Wildfire | — | — | 1 | — |
| 17 Aug 2020 | Forecast zone | Wildfire | — | — | 1 | — |
| 14 Aug 2020 | Forecast zone | Excessive Heat | — | — | 1 | — |
| 14 Aug 2020 | Forecast zone | Excessive Heat | — | — | 1 | — |
| 20 Dec 2020 | Forecast zone | Dense Fog | — | — | 1 | — |
| 21 Dec 2020 | Tulare | Dense Fog | — | — | 1 | — |
| 15 Nov 2020 | San Francisco | Storm Surge/Tide | — | — | 1 | — |
| 17 Nov 2020 | Mono | Wildfire | — | — | 1 | — |
| 20 Aug 2020 | Forecast zone | Excessive Heat | — | — | 1 | — |
| 4 Sep 2020 | Forecast zone | Excessive Heat | — | — | 1 | — |
| 28 Jun 2020 | Forecast zone | Wildfire | — | — | 1 | — |
| 13 Aug 2020 | Forecast zone | Excessive Heat | — | — | 1 | — |
| 4 Sep 2020 | Forecast zone | Excessive Heat | — | — | 1 | — |
| 5 Sep 2020 | Forecast zone | Excessive Heat | — | — | — | 77 |
| 12 Jul 2020 | Forecast zone | Wildfire | — | $1,000,000 | — | 68 |
| 4 Sep 2020 | Forecast zone | Wildfire | — | — | — | 29 |
| 1 Sep 2020 | Forecast zone | Wildfire | — | — | — | 15 |
| 13 Aug 2020 | Forecast zone | Wildfire | — | — | — | 8 |
| 16 Aug 2020 | Forecast zone | Wildfire | — | — | — | 6 |
| 12 Aug 2020 | Forecast zone | Wildfire | — | — | — | 4 |
| 16 Aug 2020 | Forecast zone | Wildfire | — | — | — | 4 |
| 1 Sep 2020 | Forecast zone | Wildfire | — | $27,200,000 | — | — |
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 2020
| Declared | Number | Type | Incident | Title | Counties |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 Dec 2020 | FM-5383 | Fire management assistance | Fire | Bond Fire | 1 |
| 26 Oct 2020 | FM-5381 | Fire management assistance | Fire | Blue Ridge Fire | 3 |
| 26 Oct 2020 | FM-5380 | Fire management assistance | Fire | Silverado Fire | 1 |
| 16 Oct 2020 | DR-4569 | Major disaster | Fire | Wildfires | 12 |
| 28 Sep 2020 | FM-5377 | Fire management assistance | Fire | Zogg Fire | 1 |
| 27 Sep 2020 | FM-5376 | Fire management assistance | Fire | Glass Fire | 2 |
| 13 Sep 2020 | FM-5374 | Fire management assistance | Fire | Bobcat Fire | 1 |
| 13 Sep 2020 | FM-5373 | Fire management assistance | Fire | Sqf Fire Complex | 1 |
| 9 Sep 2020 | FM-5363 | Fire management assistance | Fire | Bear Fire | 3 |
| 9 Sep 2020 | FM-5361 | Fire management assistance | Fire | Slater Fire | 1 |
| 6 Sep 2020 | FM-5350 | Fire management assistance | Fire | El Dorado Fire | 1 |
| 6 Sep 2020 | FM-5348 | Fire management assistance | Fire | Creek Fire | 2 |
| 22 Aug 2020 | FM-5339 | Fire management assistance | Fire | Sheep Fire | 1 |
| 22 Aug 2020 | DR-4558 | Major disaster | Fire | Wildfires | 20 |
| 21 Aug 2020 | FM-5338 | Fire management assistance | Fire | Scu Ligtning Complex Fire | 2 |
| 20 Aug 2020 | FM-5336 | Fire management assistance | Fire | Czu Lightning Fire Complex | 2 |
| 19 Aug 2020 | FM-5333 | Fire management assistance | Fire | Carmel Fire | 1 |
| 18 Aug 2020 | FM-5332 | Fire management assistance | Fire | Jones Fire | 1 |
| 18 Aug 2020 | FM-5331 | Fire management assistance | Fire | Lnu Lightning Fire Complex | 5 |
| 17 Aug 2020 | FM-5329 | Fire management assistance | Fire | River Fire | 1 |
| 2 Aug 2020 | FM-5325 | Fire management assistance | Fire | Apple Fire | 2 |
| 22 Mar 2020 | DR-4482 | Major disaster | Biological | Covid-19 Pandemic | 58 |
| 13 Mar 2020 | EM-3428 | Emergency | Biological | Covid-19 | 58 |
Flood insurance claims with a 2020 date of loss
120 NFIP claims, 55 of them paid, for $1,235,568.
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.