States › California › 2021
California, 2021
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 2021 was 2,783 against 1,802 in 2020.
Counties with the most recorded events
Notable events
| Date | County | Event type | Magnitude | Property damage | Deaths | Injuries |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 31 Aug 2021 | Imperial | Flash Flood | — | $5,000 | 2 | — |
| 14 May 2021 | Forecast zone | Cold/Wind Chill | — | — | 2 | — |
| 18 Aug 2021 | Forecast zone | Heat | — | — | 2 | — |
| 29 Jan 2021 | San Diego | Flash Flood | — | — | 1 | 8 |
| 3 Dec 2021 | Forecast zone | Dense Fog | — | $100,000 | 1 | 3 |
| 7 Nov 2021 | Forecast zone | Dense Fog | — | $30,000 | 1 | 3 |
| 13 Jul 2021 | Forecast zone | Wildfire | — | — | 1 | 3 |
| 2 Dec 2021 | Forecast zone | Dense Fog | — | — | 1 | 3 |
| 25 Apr 2021 | Forecast zone | Dense Fog | — | — | 1 | 1 |
| 4 Apr 2021 | Forecast zone | Dense Fog | — | — | 1 | 1 |
| 15 Mar 2021 | Forecast zone | Dust Storm | — | — | 1 | 1 |
| 14 Jun 2021 | Forecast zone | Excessive Heat | — | — | 1 | 1 |
| 14 Jun 2021 | Forecast zone | Excessive Heat | — | — | 1 | 1 |
| 14 Jun 2021 | Forecast zone | Excessive Heat | — | — | 1 | 1 |
| 3 Dec 2021 | Forecast zone | Dense Fog | — | $250,000 | 1 | — |
| 13 Feb 2021 | Forecast zone | High Wind | 60 mph | $100,000 | 1 | — |
| 23 Feb 2021 | Forecast zone | Strong Wind | 39 mph | — | 1 | — |
| 23 Feb 2021 | Forecast zone | Strong Wind | 39 mph | — | 1 | — |
| 16 May 2021 | Forecast zone | Cold/Wind Chill | — | — | 1 | — |
| 17 Jun 2021 | Forecast zone | Heat | — | — | 1 | — |
| 3 Feb 2021 | Forecast zone | Avalanche | — | — | 1 | — |
| 9 May 2021 | Forecast zone | Cold/Wind Chill | — | — | 1 | — |
| 15 May 2021 | Forecast zone | Cold/Wind Chill | — | — | 1 | — |
| 30 Jul 2021 | Fresno | Lightning | — | — | 1 | — |
| 17 Jul 2021 | San Bernardino | Thunderstorm Wind | 46 mph | — | 1 | — |
| 18 Jan 2021 | Forecast zone | High Wind | 100 mph | $200,000,000 | — | — |
| 23 Feb 2021 | San Francisco | Cold/Wind Chill | — | — | — | 3 |
| 1 Oct 2021 | Forecast zone | Wildfire | — | $21,500,000 | — | — |
| 22 Jan 2021 | Forecast zone | Winter Weather | — | — | — | 2 |
| 26 Jan 2021 | Forecast zone | High Wind | 67 mph | — | — | 2 |
| 14 Dec 2021 | San Diego | Flood | — | — | — | 2 |
| 12 Sep 2021 | Forecast zone | Wildfire | — | $18,000,000 | — | — |
| 1 Oct 2021 | Forecast zone | Wildfire | — | $17,950,000 | — | — |
| 28 Jan 2021 | Mono | Avalanche | — | $250,000 | — | 1 |
| 6 Jan 2021 | Forecast zone | Dense Fog | — | $150,000 | — | 1 |
| 6 Jan 2021 | Forecast zone | Dense Fog | — | $100,000 | — | 1 |
| 28 Aug 2021 | Forecast zone | Wildfire | — | $100,000 | — | 1 |
| 24 Feb 2021 | Forecast zone | Strong Wind | 49 mph | $40,000 | — | 1 |
| 30 Jul 2021 | Riverside | Thunderstorm Wind | 58 mph | $30,000 | — | 1 |
| 5 Apr 2021 | Forecast zone | High Wind | 60 mph | $12,000 | — | 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 2021
| Declared | Number | Type | Incident | Title | Counties |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13 Oct 2021 | FM-5419 | Fire management assistance | Fire | Alisal Fire | 1 |
| 23 Sep 2021 | FM-5417 | Fire management assistance | Fire | Fawn Fire | 1 |
| 12 Sep 2021 | DR-4619 | Major disaster | Fire | Wildfires | 2 |
| 1 Sep 2021 | EM-3571 | Emergency | Fire | Caldor Fire | 4 |
| 25 Aug 2021 | FM-5416 | Fire management assistance | Fire | French Fire | 1 |
| 24 Aug 2021 | DR-4610 | Major disaster | Fire | Wildfires | 6 |
| 17 Aug 2021 | FM-5413 | Fire management assistance | Fire | Caldor Fire | 1 |
| 17 Aug 2021 | FM-5412 | Fire management assistance | Fire | Monument Fire | 1 |
| 5 Aug 2021 | FM-5405 | Fire management assistance | Fire | River Fire | 1 |
| 20 Jul 2021 | FM-5400 | Fire management assistance | Fire | Dixie Fire | 2 |
| 29 Jun 2021 | FM-5393 | Fire management assistance | Fire | Lava Fire | 1 |
Flood insurance claims with a 2021 date of loss
297 NFIP claims, 174 of them paid, for $6,693,801.
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.