Placer County

Every recorded tornado

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

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.

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

Mapped by NASA (10), NV NBMG (1).

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. Jun 24, 2007Wildfire, Greater Lake Tahoe Area$500 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   The human-caused Angora wildfire started on June 24th and continued to burn through the end of June. Strong winds gusting to 40 mph caused the wildfire to spread across 3,100 acres south of Lake Tahoe. A total of 254 houses and over 60 commercial structures were destroyed.

2. Jan 9, 2017Flood$5.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   The bridge on Morton Rd. was washed out by flooding from Canyon Creek. This road is located next to the I80 exit in Alta. The incident isolated 15 homes. An alternative temporary access was established, traversing a steep, windy gravel road over private property. |The Placer County Board of Supervisors approved two measures giving both short- and long-term assistance to the isolated community. A new temporary bridge, and then a permanent bridge will be constructed on the site. The estimated cost is $3 million dollars for the bridge construction. The total cost was estimated by the county to be $5 million.

3. Jan 1, 2006Flood$2.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A series of warm winter storms brought heavy rain, mudslides, flooding, and high winds to Northern California. - Levee overtopping, breaching, and river flooding occurred along the Feather and Sacramento mainstem rivers as well as along numerous smaller rivers, creeks, and streams. Several urban areas had significant street flooding. The Sacramento weir was opened for the first time since 1997 with twenty gates opened. - Transportation throughout the area was difficult during the course of the storms as airports were closed due to the high winds and major road closures resulted from flooding and mudslides. Interstate 80...the main artery between Sacramento and the San Francisco…

4. Dec 31, 2005Flood$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Localized flooding was reported across eastern Placer County, especially on Blackwood and Ward Creeks, and the Truckee River. Blackwood Creek rose to its second highest level in the last 45 years.

5. Apr 15, 2002Heavy Snow, Greater Lake Tahoe Area$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A heavy snow shower, creating low visibilityand a slick roadway, caused a 21 vehicle pile-up on Intertstate 80 about 5 miles east of Truckee, CA. Several trucks were involved in the accident with at least one semi trailer destroyed.

6. Dec 17, 2010Winter Storm, Greater Lake Tahoe Area$400,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Ski resorts accumulated an average of 5 to 8 feet of snow. Twenty to 30 inches of snow fell north and west of Lake Tahoe below 7000 feet. However, valley areas south and east of Lake Tahoe received as little as 12 inches with periods of rain. Heavy wet snow caused a rock slide on highway 50 which closed the road on the 19th. In addition to snow, numerous reports of downed trees and associated damage were noted on the 19th. Falling trees were responsible for one destroyed house in South Lake Tahoe, with winds gusting to 63 mph and 68 mph in Truckee and South Lake Tahoe, respectively, and up to 155 mph over the crest. Finally, a tree fell on a ski lift cable at the Sierra-at-Tahoe…

7. Nov 7, 2002High Wind, Greater Lake Tahoe Area$300,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Wind gusts estimated at over 80 mph blew down trees in the South Lake Tahoe, CA area. Falling trees severely damaged one home and two vehicles. Tree limbs damaged four other homes and downed several power lines, causing scattered power outages. Sparking electric lines caused two brush fires, the largest of which scorched 30 acres.

8. Dec 14, 2002High Wind, Greater Lake Tahoe Area$220,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A strong cold front moving through northern California on December 14 brought near-record nigh winds to northeast California and western Nevada. Wind gusts reports in the 60-80 mph range were common throughout the day across the entire region, with a few gusts near 100 mph. Remote wind sensors along the Sierra Crest measured wind gusts in excess of 130 mph. Strongest winds occurred just before the cold front moved into the area at about 5:30 p.m. Literally hundreds of trees and thousands of tree limbs were blown down across the region. In addition, there was widespread damage to roofs, fences, commercial billboards and signs, and power lines. Numerous power outages occurred, some…

9. Dec 14, 2002High Wind, Greater Lake Tahoe Area$220,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A strong cold front moving through northern California on December 14 brought near-record nigh winds to northeast California and western Nevada. Wind gusts reports in the 60-80 mph range were common throughout the day across the entire region, with a few gusts near 100 mph. Remote wind sensors along the Sierra Crest measured wind gusts in excess of 130 mph. Strongest winds occurred just before the cold front moved into the area at about 5:30 p.m. Literally hundreds of trees and thousands of tree limbs were blown down across the region. In addition, there was widespread damage to roofs, fences, commercial billboards and signs, and power lines. Numerous power outages occurred, some…

10. Dec 14, 2002High Wind, Greater Lake Tahoe Area$220,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    A strong cold front moving through northern California on December 14 brought near-record nigh winds to northeast California and western Nevada. Wind gusts reports in the 60-80 mph range were common throughout the day across the entire region, with a few gusts near 100 mph. Remote wind sensors along the Sierra Crest measured wind gusts in excess of 130 mph. Strongest winds occurred just before the cold front moved into the area at about 5:30 p.m. Literally hundreds of trees and thousands of tree limbs were blown down across the region. In addition, there was widespread damage to roofs, fences, commercial billboards and signs, and power lines. Numerous power outages occurred, some…

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

115°FJun 15, 1961

All-time low

18°FDec 22, 1990

Warmest night

78°FJul 23, 2006

Coldest day

29°FDec 14, 1972

Wettest day

5.41 inOct 24, 2021

Snowiest day

2.0 inFeb 5, 1976

Hottest year

2014mean 64.4°F

Coldest year

1982mean 57.7°F

Wettest year

198333.44 in

Driest year

20135.81 in

Snowiest season

2.0 in1975-76

Station Sacramento Airport Asos (USW00023232), 19 ft elevation, 28.1 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1941 to October 26, 2026; 99.9% 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 USW00023232.
• 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.
• 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.