Vista

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 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 San Diego County, the county that contains Vista.

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 San Diego County, the county that contains Vista.

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.

High tide flooding

Tide gauges in San Diego County.

Other tide gauges here: La Jolla (record 8 days, 2015).

1. High tide flooding days are days on which a NOAA tide gauge recorded water at or above NOAA's minor flood threshold, set from the gauge's tide range, counted by meteorological year (May to April). These are the counts in NOAA's annual high tide flooding reports; they are not National Weather Service flood stages. Years with less than 80 percent of data are left out.

NOAA CO-OPS high tide flooding counts, through April 2026, retrieved October 30, 2026.

The drought index is for San Diego County, the county that contains Vista.

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.

Tsunamis

Tsunami records for San Diego County.

1. Places where NOAA's Global Historical Tsunami Database records a tsunami's water arriving, with the greatest height it reached above sea level at the time. Only tsunamis NOAA rates probable or definite are counted. Heights from eyewitness accounts and tide gauges are mixed, and older events are less completely recorded.

NOAA NCEI/WDS Global Historical Tsunami Database, 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.

Mapped landslides

Landslides mapped in San Diego County.

Mapped by CA GS (388), NASA (49), USGS Post-Fire Debris Flows (20).

Deadly landslides

1. Landslides mapped in the USGS compilation of landslide inventories across the United States (version 3.0, 2025), rated probable or better. The compilation joins inventories made by federal and state agencies for different purposes and areas, so the number mapped in a county reflects how closely it has been surveyed as much as how often its slopes fail. An area with few records may simply not have been mapped. Deaths are as recorded in the inventories; a slide listed in two inventories is counted once.

USGS Landslide Inventories across the United States, version 3.0, retrieved October 27, 2026.

More event types since 1996

Costliest events since 1996

1. Oct 25, 2003Wildfire$1.0 billion
   National Weather Service narrative

   Named the Cedar Fire, this fire was started around sunset on October 25 by a lost hunter. Wind gusts from the northeast over 30 mph began within 2 hours of the fire's start. Atmospheric conditions remained favorable for rapid fire growth for the four days following with maximum temperatures ranging between 88 and 98, and minimum relative humidity around 15%. During the first 36 hours, the fire grew at a rate of 6000 acres/hour. At one point it had a 45 mile long flaming front and threatened to merge with the Paradise Fire to the north and the Otay Fire to the south. During the month of October, it consumed 275,833 acres and destroyed: 2403 residential, commercial, and industrial…

2. Oct 21, 2007Wildfire, San Diego County Valleys$300 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   The Witch Creek Fire was by far the largest of the October 2007 wildfires. The fire started around 12:35 pm on the 21st in Witch Creek Canyon near Santa Ysabel and quickly spread west to Ramona. By the morning of the 22nd, strong Santa Ana winds had pushed the fire into Rancho Bernardo, Poway and Escondido, causing significant damage. From there the fire jumped over Interstate 15 and continued west, causing additional damage in Lake Hodges, 4S Ranch, Del Dios and Rancho Santa Fe. Several hundred-thousand people were informed of mandatory evacuation orders via a reverse 911 system. The fire destroyed 1,125 homes, 509 outbuildings, and 239 vehicles. An additional 77 homes and 25…

3. Oct 22, 2007Wildfire, San Diego County Valleys$151 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   The Rice Fire started on October 22nd and burned 9,472 acres near Fallbrook. The fire destroyed 206 homes, 40 outbuildings, and 2 commercial properties. Crop damage was estimated at $14.6M. The cause of the fire was determined to be downed power line. Five injuries were reported. The Rice Fire cost $6.5M to fight and was one of thirteen large, wind-driven wildfires to impact the San Diego CWA in late October.

4. Oct 21, 2007Wildfire, San Diego County Valleys$75.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A 52 year-old Potrero man was killed while trying to save his home. At least seven others were killed after having crossed the border illegally.

5. Oct 26, 2003Wildfire$55.2 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Named the Paradise Fire, this fire was started by an arsonist on October 26, 2003. In October it consumed 56,000 acres, and destroyed 348 structures, 342 vehicles, and several miles of utility lines and highway infrastructure. Atmospheric and fuel conditions were favorable for rapid growth both preceding and during the first several days of the fire. Maximum temperatures ranged between 91 and 101 degrees, relative humidity ranged from 6 to 10 percent during the day and 28-46 percent at night, with east and northeast winds gusting 30 to 40 mph during the nights and mornings and becoming west 5 to 10 mph during the afternoons. On the first day, the fire rapidly burned into Valley…

6. Oct 21, 2007Wildfire, San Diego County Coastal Areas$50.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   The Witch Creek Fire was by far the largest of the October 2007 wildfires. The fire started around 12:35 pm on the 21st in Witch Creek Canyon near Santa Ysabel and quickly spread west to Ramona. By the morning of the 22nd, strong Santa Ana winds had pushed the fire into Rancho Bernardo, Poway and Escondido, causing significant damage. From there the fire jumped over Interstate 15 and continued west, causing additional damage in Lake Hodges, 4S Ranch, Del Dios and Rancho Santa Fe. Several hundred-thousand people were informed of mandatory evacuation orders via a reverse 911 system. The fire destroyed 1,125 homes, 509 outbuildings, and 239 vehicles. An additional 77 homes and 25…

7. Oct 21, 2007Wildfire, San Diego County Mountains$50.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   The Witch Creek Fire was by far the largest of the October 2007 wildfires. The fire started around 12:35 pm on the 21st in Witch Creek Canyon near Santa Ysabel and quickly spread west to Ramona. By the morning of the 22nd, strong Santa Ana winds had pushed the fire into Rancho Bernardo, Poway and Escondido, causing significant damage. From there the fire jumped over Interstate 15 and continued west, causing additional damage in Lake Hodges, 4S Ranch, Del Dios and Rancho Santa Fe. Several hundred-thousand people were informed of mandatory evacuation orders via a reverse 911 system. The fire destroyed 1,125 homes, 509 outbuildings, and 239 vehicles. An additional 77 homes and 25…

8. Sep 9, 2024Wildfire, Santa Ana Mountains And Foothills$50.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   The Airport fire began at 120 pm PDT Monday September 9, 2024 in Trabuco Canyon, at a remote controlled airport facility, following an excessive heat wave where temperatures reached 100 to 112F. The wildfire burned the next 2 weeks across the Santa Ana mountains and SR 74 which was closed. The wildfire reached into western Riverside County, just west of Lake Elsinore. Total acreage was 23,500. Estimated cost of 95 million. There were a total of 160 structures destroyed in Riverside and Orange Counties with 89 of those structures in Orange County. 22 persons, 2 were civilians and the rest firefighters, suffered injuries. A Fire Management Assistance Grant was issued and approved by…

9. Oct 3, 2007Debris Flow, San Diego County Coastal Areas$48.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A massive landslide on the east slope of Mount Soledad in La Jolla left two homes destroyed and 15 others uninhabitable. The landslide also knocked down power lines, completely destroyed 200 feet of Soledad Mountain Road, and caused a minor gas leak. The landside caused $26 million in public works damage and $22 million in property damage. Weather was not a factor in the landslide.

10. Oct 21, 1996Wildfire$37.4 million
    National Weather Service narrative

    Santa Ana winds averaging 30 mph, with gusts to 45, fanned the flames of three wildfires across San Diego County. The first fire started in Harmony Grove, and quickly spread westward to eastern sections of Carlsbad and Encinitas, burning some 8,600 acres, destroying 125 homes, damaging 122 others, and seriously burning one man. Another fire broke out at 6:55 pm on the Rincon Indian Reservation, and spread to Valley Center, consuming 1,800 acres, and destroying six structures. The largest fire began around 2:00 am on the 22nd, on desolate Otay Mountain, and spread to the Tijuana River in Mexico, burning over 14,000 acres, three radio towers, and six cows, before it was under…

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

108°FJun 30, 1985

All-time low

21°FJan 13, 1963

Warmest night

80°FJul 2, 1985

Coldest day

49°FDec 10, 1972

Wettest day

3.26 inFeb 28, 1991

Snowiest day

16.0 inFeb 26, 2004

Hottest year

1992mean 65.8°F

Coldest year

1975mean 59.4°F

Wettest year

197828.36 in

Driest year

19893.80 in

Station Vista (USC00049378), 430 ft elevation, 3.2 miles from the city centre. Daily records from 1957 to September 6, 2026; 92.8% 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 San Diego 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 USC00049378.
• River crests NOAA National Weather Service, National Water Prediction Service river gauges, retrieved October 30, 2026.
• Tide gauges NOAA CO-OPS high tide flooding counts, 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.
• Tsunamis NOAA NCEI/WDS Global Historical Tsunami Database.
• Volcanoes USGS Volcano Hazards Program, U.S. volcanoes and 2018 threat assessment.
• Landslides USGS Landslide Inventories across the United States, version 3.0 (2025).
• 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.