San Francisco County

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.

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.

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 CA GS (9), USGS CA SF Bay Dec 2022 - Jan 2023 (6), NASA (5).

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. Jan 20, 2010High Surf, San Francisco$17.9 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Heavy surf from storms occurring this autumn and winter had finally eroded away the 30-foot bluff protecting San Francisco's Great Highway. The erosion removed the ground from beneath the guard rail of the southbound lanes causing the closure of all southbound lanes. The entire Great Highway was closed from Lincoln Way to Sloat Blvd. A request for a Governor's State of Emergency Proclamation was submitted in order to receive Emergency Relief funding from the Federal Highway Administration. The emergency, temporary estimate to repair the damage is $2.92 million dollars. However, a semi-permanent repair is estimated at an additional $15 million dollars.

2. Jan 11, 2001Flood, San Francisco$5.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A strong low pressure produced large waves and high winds which occurred at the high astronomical tide to cause coastal flooding along the Pacific coast counties and in the Bays as well. Water was over the Embarcadero well into the streets along the San Francisco Bay in San Francisco. The surf flooded and damaged the area of Pacifica along the the Pacific Coast and undermined the seawall. Damage to a restaurant was recorded as the waves pushed into the lower part of the city. HWY. 1 near Bodega Bay in Sonoma Co. was flooded. In Pacific Grove, Monterey County water was over the ocean front road.r

3. Feb 25, 2004Flood, San Francisco County$3.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   The southwestern part of the city of San Francisco was hit with torrential rain as a convective element passed over the area. Some locations in the city had water to 4 feet deep.

4. Nov 7, 2002High Wind, San Francisco$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   One very strong weather system affected central California during November. For a three-day period starting on the 7th of the month, rainfall totaling 2-5 inches fell across the North Bay counties, 2-4 inches fell across the San Francisco Peninsula, 1-3 inches fell across the East Bay, 1-4 inches fell across the South Bay and 1-2 inches fell across Monterey and San Benito Counties. The most rain fell across Santa Cruz County during this period where rainfall totals ranged from 2 inches to as much as 8 inches in the higher elevations of the coastal hills. Since this was the first appreciable rain of the season, no major flooding occurred with the ground absorbing most of the rain.…

5. Nov 24, 2001High Wind, San Francisco$1.0 million
6. Jan 20, 2010High Surf, San Francisco$248,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Heavy surf combined with wind and rain to damage three docks in San Francisco. Pier 80, Dry Dock number one, began to sink due to hole in the hull allowing 700 gallons of water per minute into the dock. At Pier 45, the USS Pampanito's stern anchor chain snapped due to the rough seas and strong wind causing damage to the pier. And, at Pier 1.5, a 20 foot section of the Water Taxi Dock separated from the rest of the dock. Ferry Service on the San Francisco Bay was canceled due to the strong winds and large wind waves.

7. Oct 13, 2009High Wind, San Francisco$150,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Strong winds across San Francisco brought numerous trees down and caused thousands of buildings to lose power. On Hyde Street near Green Street a parked car was crushed as a three-story high eucalyptus tree fell onto it while a truck just pulling away received a cracked windshield. At the San Francisco State University campus a few trees were uprooted near Mary Park and Mary Ward halls. Elsewhere in the city a tree fell across the entire span of Broadway between Powell and Stockton Streets. Over 125 calls to the Department of Public Works regarding tree issues occurred.

8. Sep 12, 2009Lightning$120,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   About 47,000 residents lost power around San Francisco as thunderstorms rolled through the city/county. The largest outage affected 36,000 customers in parts of Sunset, Glen Park and Park Merced neighborhoods. One lightning strike hit a power transformer causing it to explode. Besides the total destruction of the power transformer, two vehicles were damaged at the intersection of Broderick and Sacramento Roads.

9. Nov 30, 1998High Wind, San Francisco$100,000
10. Feb 9, 1999High Wind, San Francisco$100,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Winds gusting to an estimated 60 Kts blew down scaffolding around the civic center and crushed six cars on the street below in downtown San Francisco.

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

106°FSep 1, 2017

All-time low

27°FDec 11, 1932

Warmest night

75°FSep 2, 2017

Coldest day

35°FDec 11, 1932

Wettest day

5.54 inNov 5, 1994

Snowiest day

0.8 inDec 11, 1932

Hottest year

1992mean 60.8°F

Coldest year

1955mean 55.2°F

Wettest year

198343.75 in

Driest year

20135.59 in

Station San Francisco Dwtn (USW00023272), 150 ft elevation, 0.9 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1921 to October 27, 2026; 99.3% 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 USW00023272.
• 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.