Monterey County

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond the county. Deaths recorded within Monterey County: 0.
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.

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

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

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.

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 county boundary (or inside the county).
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

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.

Mapped landslides

Mapped by CA GS (2,514), NASA (27), West Coast Slow Moving (Yuankun and others, 2021) (14), USGS Earthquake-Triggered Ground Failure (8), USGS Conterminous (4).

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. Sep 8, 1999Wildfire$66.9 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A surface low off the CA Coast brought tropical moisure and mild istability over the coastal CA are and lightning continued through the night over the entire Central Coast and San Francisco Bay area.Kirk Complex (consisted of Tassajara, Five, Big Pine, Elephant, Lone Pine, Freed, 7, Torre, Devil, Kirk and Hare Fires) Complex was divided into the North and South Components). Cause: Lightning strikesLocation: In the Ventana Wilderness approximately 20 miles Southeast of Carmel, CA. Monterey Co. Size: 85,634 acres (as of 10/19/99)Containment: OctoberFatalities: noneStructures Lost: noneCost: $66.9 million (as of 10/19/99)

2. Oct 18, 1996Wildfire$12.3 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   This fire known as the Big Sur fire began Oct 18 near Ventana Camp Park. Much of the fire occurred in the Ventana wilderness area. 2500 Fire fighter participated. 4400 acres were burned. light rain helped control fire. The cost of fighting the fire is estimated 12.3 million. 180 fire engines were used. 13 helicopters and 3 air tankers were used.

3. Feb 6, 1998Flash Flood$10.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Highway One closed all along big Sur Coast due to Flash flooding and resulting mudslides , and portion of the road washing away. Road not opened until May 98.

4. May 19, 2017Debris Flow$10.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Heavy winter rain caused a deep rooted debris flow to occur that covered highway 1. This slide has no estimated time for removal and has damage estimates well in to the millions.|http://www.mercurynews.com/2017/05/31/big-sur-coast-has-grown-13-acres-from-new-landslide/. https://www.usnews.com/news/us/articles/2017-05-23/massive-slide-covers-stretch-of-iconic-california-highway.

5. Oct 7, 1996Wildfire$4.5 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   The fire known as Wild Cattle Canyon Fire burned over 20,000 acres mostly in the Las Padres National Forest and Big Sur area. This fire lasted 7 days and was supported by an IMET from San Juaoquin Valley NWFO. 15 Federal, State, and local agencies provided as many as 2200 firefighters were on the fire.Three Firefighter were injured from falling in the steep terrain. The cost in the firefight alone was $4.5 Million. 5 homes were distroyed. two vehicles,two travel trailers and nine outbuildings were distroyed. High temperatures proceeded the fires with a high of 102 in Monterey. Heavy fog caused problems because aircraft and helicopters could not operate over the very rugged…

6. Mar 16, 2011Debris Flow, Southern Monterey Bay And Big Sur Coast$2.5 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Heavy rain on saturated soils caused a large landslide on State Route One 13.7 miles north of Big Sur State Park at Rocky Creek. The roadway reopened to one-way controlled traffic on April 20, 2011.

7. Mar 11, 2011Tsunami, Southern Monterey Bay And Big Sur Coast$1.8 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Moss Landing Harbor sustained damages to docks and harbor structures during the tsunami.

8. Mar 24, 2011Debris Flow, Southern Monterey Bay And Big Sur Coast$1.2 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Heavy rain and high surf caused widespread flooding, mudslides, road closures, and downed power lines across Monterey County.

9. Feb 13, 2000Flash Flood$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   floods and mudslides water from the persistent rain washed out highway one south of Big Sur that still has not been reopened two months later.The Bolsa knolls area was flooded and water damaged a number of houses and businesses. Houses in Prunedale were flooded with water and mud. Fallen trees were the cause of power outages to around 2,400 people in North Monterey County. Pacific Grove Mifddle School was flooded and evacuated.

10. Mar 24, 2011Flood$1.0 million
    National Weather Service narrative

    There were 1279 acres of crops or croplands impacted by flooding from the Salinas River and its tributaries (1263 acres of Salinas River acreage and 16 acres from the tributaries).

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

109°FSep 2, 2017

All-time low

18°FJan 21, 1937

Warmest night

68°FSep 22, 1939

Coldest day

39°FJan 21, 1962

Wettest day

3.22 inDec 11, 2014

Snowiest day

1.0 inJan 21, 1962

Hottest year

2014mean 61.1°F

Coldest year

1971mean 54.9°F

Wettest year

194128.10 in

Driest year

20133.25 in

Station Salinas Airport (USW00023233), 73 ft elevation, 4.0 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1930 to October 26, 2026; 99.6% 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.

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.

Neighbouring counties

• 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 USW00023233.
• 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.
• 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.