Santa Cruz County tornado history

8 tornadoes touched Santa Cruz County, California between 1950 and 2025 — about 0.1 a year. The strongest was rated F1 (Dec 20, 2001).

8tornadoes since 1950
F1strongest rating
0killed · 5 injured
1.1 milongest path · 2012
(E)F0(E)F1(E)F2(E)F3(E)F4(E)F5· dots = start point only

By rating

(E)F05
(E)F13
(E)F20
(E)F30
(E)F40
(E)F50

By month

JFMAMJJASOND

Peak month: December.

By decade

’50’60’70’80’90’00’10’20

Strongest tornadoes

DateRatingPathWidthInjuredKilled
Dec 20, 2001F10.5 mi60 yd00
Dec 14, 2024EF10.3 mi30 yd50
Apr 1, 1965F10.1 mi100 yd00
Dec 22, 2012EF01.1 mi20 yd00
Dec 5, 1998F01 mi100 yd00
Jan 6, 2019EF00.5 mi6 yd00
Feb 3, 1986F00.2 mi50 yd00
Jan 6, 2019EF00.1 mi6 yd00

Most recent tornadoes

DateRatingPathWidthInjuredKilled
Dec 14, 2024EF10.3 mi30 yd50
Jan 6, 2019EF00.1 mi6 yd00
Jan 6, 2019EF00.5 mi6 yd00
Dec 22, 2012EF01.1 mi20 yd00
Dec 20, 2001F10.5 mi60 yd00
Dec 5, 1998F01 mi100 yd00
Feb 3, 1986F00.2 mi50 yd00
Apr 1, 1965F10.1 mi100 yd00

Nearby counties

Santa Clara County, CA6San Mateo County, CA4Alameda County, CA3San Benito County, CA2Contra Costa County, CA4Monterey County, CA5Stanislaus County, CA13Merced County, CA17

Questions

How many tornadoes has Santa Cruz County, California had?

8 tornadoes touched Santa Cruz County, California between 1950 and 2025 in the NOAA Storm Prediction Center database — about 0.1 per year.

What was the strongest tornado in Santa Cruz County?

The strongest rating recorded was F1 on Dec 20, 2001, with a 0.5-mile path.

When is tornado season in Santa Cruz County?

Most of its tornadoes happened in December (4 of 8). 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 (2004 onward).