El Centro

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond this area.
2. Weak tornadoes were under-recorded before Doppler radar coverage became national in the early 1990s, so earlier decades read low. Ratings use the Fujita scale before February 2007 and the Enhanced Fujita scale after.

Storm Prediction Center severe weather database, 1950 to 2025.

Every storm within 100 miles

1. Tropical storms and hurricanes (34 kt or more, still tropical) at closest approach. Post-tropical remnants with gale-force winds are listed but not counted. Direct: track within 50 miles; near: within 100 miles. Distance is measured to the county boundary for counties and to the city centre for cities, using positions interpolated hourly between HURDAT2 fixes.

National Hurricane Center HURDAT2, 1851 to 2025.

Every large fire

1. Large fires mapped by the Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity program since 1984: 1,000 acres or more in the West, 500 or more in the East. Prescribed burns are excluded. Acres here are the part of each perimeter inside this place.

Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity (USGS and U.S. Forest Service), 1984 to 2026.

Smoke overhead

1. A smoke day is a date on which a smoke plume traced by NOAA Hazard Mapping System analysts from satellite imagery covered this place's point (the county's population centre or the city centre). Counts here are of medium or heavy smoke. Since 2018 analysts have often drawn light smoke as one area over most of the continent, so light-smoke counts are not comparable from year to year. The plumes show smoke anywhere in the air above, not air quality at the ground, and smoke hidden by cloud is missed.

NOAA Hazard Mapping System smoke analysis, 2011 to 2026, retrieved October 30, 2026.

Flood insurance figures are for Imperial County, the county that contains El Centro.

Claims by ZIP code

This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's OpenFEMA API, but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).

OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims v3, refreshed August 4, 2026. NOAA Storm Events through 2026.

River crests

River gauges in Imperial County, the county that contains El Centro.

The National Weather Service sets flood stages for 1 gauge here but lists no crests for it.

River gauges

1. Crests are the highest and the recent crests the National Weather Service lists for each river gauge in the county that has a flood stage, not every flood. Flood categories use each gauge's current flood stages; crests from before levees, dams or channel changes may not be comparable. Crests measured on an old datum are left out of the rankings.

NOAA National Water Prediction Service gauge records, retrieved October 30, 2026.

The drought index is for Imperial County, the county that contains El Centro.

1. The Palmer Drought Severity Index is computed by NOAA each month from the county's average temperature and precipitation, relative to the county's own climate. Zero is normal; -3 or lower is severe drought and -4 or lower extreme drought. It describes the long-term balance of moisture, not water supply or crop losses.

NOAA NCEI nClimDiv county Palmer Drought Severity Index, 1895 to September 2026, issued October 6, 2026.

Every earthquake of magnitude 4 or more within 50 miles

1. Earthquakes of magnitude 2.5 or more in the USGS Comprehensive Catalog since 1900. Within 50 miles means the epicentre lies within 50 miles of the city centre.
2. Small earthquakes were under-recorded before the modern seismic networks of the 1970s and are still missed in remote areas, so early decades read low. Magnitudes are as the catalogue reports them and mix scales (moment, local and body-wave).

USGS ANSS Comprehensive Earthquake Catalog, 1900 to present, retrieved October 30, 2026.

Volcanoes within 100 miles

1. U.S. volcanoes within 100 miles, from the USGS Volcano Hazards Program. The threat category is the USGS 2018 National Volcanic Threat Assessment, which ranks volcanoes by how hazardous their past eruptions were and how many people and how much infrastructure lie near them. It is not a forecast of eruption.

USGS Volcano Hazards Program, retrieved October 30, 2026.

More event types since 1996

Costliest events since 1996

1. Sep 1, 2023Flash Flood$30.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Widespread 1 to 2 inches of radar estimated rain fell in Niland and areas just east into the Chocolate Mountains. A large area of considerable runoff flowed through Niland and the surrounding area, as evident in reports and before and after Sentinel2 satellite images, with upwards of 6 inches to 1 foot of flowing water in some areas, per photos and videos. Major flash flooding impacts were experienced. The East Highline Canal east of Niland, was overcome with flood waters and silt, mainly north of of Flowing Wells Rd. The overflowing canal was first reported a little after 1600PDT and only exacerbated the flooding. Several roads became impassable, unsafe, and subsequently closed…

2. Sep 15, 2007Thunderstorm Wind$4.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Very strong, straight line winds caused significant damage to many homes and businesses including a fire station. The storm motion was toward the northeast. Power lines and poles were downed and many trees were uprooted.|Storm survey data indicated the most significant damage was about 651 pm PDT.

3. Jan 22, 2024Flood$4.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   The New River USGS Gauge at the International Border in Calexico reported water levels peaking to 15.6 feet, which is just above minor flood stage. The rise to minor flood stage was generally gradual as water levels rose at a rate of 1 feet per hour according to the gauge data. The rising water levels caused damage to an improvement project being performed at the New River in Calexico with water overtopping the sheet piles. About 10 feet of standing water was estimated inside the sheet piles. This water overtopping caused a generator controlling the dewatering to flood and shutdown. The city of Calexico declared an emergency due to the damages that the high water levels caused to…

4. Aug 25, 2025Flash Flood$2.5 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Significant flash flooding occurred along Highway 86 near Highway 78, leaving numerous motorists stranded on the flooded roadway. According to reports, up to 200 motorists were left stranded along Highway 86, with videos showing floodwaters that appeared to be around 3 to 5 feet deep over the roadway. Videos and images showed vehicles floating on the roadway with several vehicles almost completely submerged by the floodwaters. Multiple motorists were left stranded on top of their vehicles before being rescued. Portions of the roadway were also washed out by the flooding. No injuries or fatalities were reported.

5. Aug 31, 2021Flash Flood$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Thunderstorms produced very heavy rainfall across northeast portions of Imperial County where nearly 7 inches of rain was estimated to have fallen in a 5 hour period. The Cibola RAWS site recorded 1.58 inches of rain between 1348PDT and 1548PDT. As a result, extensive flooding occurred along SR 78 from Palo Verde and areas south, damaging the road and leading to an extended closure for repairs.

6. Aug 25, 2025Thunderstorm Wind$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Multiple down power poles and power lines were reported near I-8 and Bonds Corner Road. This included downed high voltage transmission lines. Multiple motorists and nearby residents were reported to be trapped in the Holtville area due to all the downed power poles and power lines. No injuries were reported. Time estimated from radar.

7. Aug 31, 2021Thunderstorm Wind$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   An article from a local newspaper reported numerous transmission and distribution power poles were down in an area between Calipatria and Niland due to damaging wind gusts. According to the Imperial Irrigation District, over 100 power poles were knocked down by the storm. Photos shared on social media showed multiple power poles down along Lindsey Road and Gentry Road. No injuries were reported. Timing was estimated using radar.

8. Jul 7, 2011Thunderstorm Wind$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A strong thunderstorm with damaging microburst winds moved across the community of Calexico, south of Imperial, during the late afternoon on July 7th. Law enforcement and emergency management personnel reported that a number of trees were downed, and there was transformer damage as well. In addition, winds with gusts estimated to 70 knots damaged 30 homes, and 2 homes were destroyed by falling trees.

9. Aug 25, 2025Thunderstorm Wind$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Four semi trucks were reported to be flipped over with power lines over the trucks. Images also showed multiple power poles down in the area. No injuries were reported. Time estimated from radar.

10. Aug 25, 2025Thunderstorm Wind$400,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Five power poles were reported down along SR-115 near Evan Hewes Highway. Additionally, the Imperial Irrigation District reported approximately 50 power poles were down west of Holtville. In Holtville, two homes were reported to be damaged after trees were blown over onto the structures. The tree at one of the homes also destroyed a vehicle. No injuries were reported.

1. Storm Events records before 1996 cover only tornadoes, thunderstorm wind and hail. Damage figures are as reported by the National Weather Service at the time, not adjusted for inflation.

NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, 1950 to 2026, issued October 26, 2026.

All-time high

122°FJun 20, 2017

All-time low

21°F2 times, most recently Jan 14, 2007

Warmest night

95°FAug 30, 2007

Coldest day

44°FDec 14, 1967

Wettest day

2.22 inSep 10, 1976

Hottest year

2016mean 76.0°F

Coldest year

1975mean 70.3°F

Wettest year

20105.48 in

Driest year

20210.02 in

Station Imperial County Airport (USW00003144), -55 ft elevation, 3.5 miles from the city centre. Daily records from 1962 to October 26, 2026; 85.5% of days in the last 30 years are complete. Records at a single station can differ from a city’s official threaded record, which may combine several stations.

NOAA NCEI Global Historical Climatology Network Daily.

Declarations for Imperial County.

This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's OpenFEMA API, but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).

OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries, retrieved October 30, 2026. Statewide declarations are not listed.

• Tornadoes NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather database, through 2025.
• Tropical cyclones NOAA National Hurricane Center HURDAT2 (Atlantic; Northeast and Central Pacific), through 2025.
• Wildfire USGS/USFS Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity, through 2026.
• Storm events NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, through 2026.
• Flood insurance OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims v3, refreshed August 4, 2026.
• Declarations OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries v2, retrieved October 30, 2026.
• Weather records NOAA NCEI Global Historical Climatology Network Daily, station USW00003144.
• River crests NOAA National Weather Service, National Water Prediction Service river gauges, retrieved October 30, 2026.
• Drought NOAA NCEI nClimDiv county Palmer Drought Severity Index, through September 2026.
• Smoke NOAA NESDIS Hazard Mapping System smoke analysis, retrieved October 30, 2026.
• Volcanoes USGS Volcano Hazards Program, U.S. volcanoes and 2018 threat assessment.
• Earthquakes USGS ANSS Comprehensive Earthquake Catalog (ComCat), retrieved October 30, 2026.

Joins, thresholds and known limits are set out in the methodology. Found an error? Report it. Page built October 30, 2026.