Orange County tornado history

32 tornadoes touched Orange County, California between 1950 and 2025 — about 0.4 a year. The strongest was rated F3 (Feb 9, 1978).

32tornadoes since 1950
F3strongest rating
0killed · 13 injured
10.9 milongest path · 1977
(E)F0(E)F1(E)F2(E)F3(E)F4(E)F5· dots = start point only

By rating

(E)F016
(E)F114
(E)F21
(E)F31
(E)F40
(E)F50

By month

JFMAMJJASOND

Peak month: January.

By decade

’50’60’70’80’90’00’10’20

Strongest tornadoes

DateRatingPathWidthInjuredKilled
Feb 9, 1978F32 mi67 yd60
Nov 7, 1966F20.2 mi10 yd00
Mar 16, 1977F110.9 mi10 yd40
Jan 19, 2010EF14.6 mi25 yd00
Mar 27, 1991F13 mi53 yd00
Jan 31, 1979F12 mi10 yd00
Mar 16, 1986F11.2 mi40 yd00
Jan 14, 1993F11 mi30 yd00
Dec 21, 1997F11 mi30 yd00
Apr 1, 1958F10.5 mi30 yd00
Nov 7, 1966F10.5 mi10 yd00
Nov 9, 1982F10.2 mi33 yd00

Most recent tornadoes

DateRatingPathWidthInjuredKilled
Jan 19, 2010EF14.6 mi25 yd00
Sep 22, 2007EF00.1 mi15 yd00
Feb 19, 2005F00.2 mi20 yd00
Feb 24, 2001F00.1 mi100 yd00
Feb 24, 1998F00.3 mi30 yd00
Dec 21, 1997F11 mi30 yd00
Nov 11, 1997F10.2 mi200 yd00
Feb 7, 1994F09 mi73 yd00
Nov 11, 1993F00.1 mi10 yd20
Feb 8, 1993F00.5 mi10 yd00
Jan 18, 1993F00.1 mi10 yd00
Jan 17, 1993F00.1 mi10 yd10

Nearby counties

Los Angeles County, CA49San Diego County, CA27Ventura County, CA8Riverside County, CA27San Bernardino County, CA32Kern County, CA16Santa Barbara County, CA7Imperial County, CA7

Questions

How many tornadoes has Orange County, California had?

32 tornadoes touched Orange County, California between 1950 and 2025 in the NOAA Storm Prediction Center database — about 0.4 per year.

What was the strongest tornado in Orange County?

The strongest rating recorded was F3 on Feb 9, 1978, with a 2-mile path.

When is tornado season in Orange County?

Most of its tornadoes happened in January (8 of 32). Tornadoes can occur in any month, so keep alerts on year-round.

Right now: live tornado warnings map · alerts for your location. Dates link to that day’s full storm reports where available.