Santa Cruz County

Every recorded tornado

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

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 USGS Earthquake-Triggered Ground Failure (1,559), CA GS (1,175), NASA (43), USGS CA SF Bay Dec 2022 - Jan 2023 (17), USGS Conterminous (2).

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. Mar 11, 2011Tsunami, Northern Monterey Bay$26.6 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A tsunami impacted Santa Cruz...in particular Santa Cruz Harbor. Impacts included: eighteen vessels sunk, four vessels capsized, 100+ vessels with either superficial damage or waiting to be assessed, oil sheen on the water and serious damage to harbor facilities.

2. Mar 24, 2011Flash Flood$15.5 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Heavy rain overwhelmed a drainage pipe that runs underneath Pacific Cove Mobile Home Park, and then cascaded down Riverview Drive into the village causing damage to homes and businesses.

3. Apr 4, 2006Debris Flow, Santa Cruz Mountains$13.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Heavy and persistent rains in the Santa Cruz mountains during the first half of April caused many landslides. Damage was estimated at nearly $13 million, with at least $6 million charged to county road damages. At least 17 homes in Santa Cruz County were damaged, including 9 that were red-tagged.

4. Mar 24, 2011Heavy Rain$9.8 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Officials in Santa Cruz County are estimating that heavy rain caused $8.3 million in damage to unincorporated areas of the County, including a slide near Scotts Valley that cut off access to more than 30 homes. Damage to the City of Santa Cruz is estimated at $1.5 million.

5. Jan 15, 2022Tsunami, Northern Monterey Bay$6.5 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Wave energy from the tsunami reached the West Coast and caused approximately $6.5 million in damage to Santa Cruz Harbor, according to the local Port Director. Damage was inflicted on utility infrastructure, pilings and bathroom facilities, as more than 3 feet of water poured in. Waves also knocked out power around the harbor docks, a place where many people live on their boats.||https://www.santacruzsentinel.com/2022/01/18/santa-cruz-harbor-sees-more-than-6-million-in-tsunami-damage/.||https://twitter.com/VFisher45/status/1482419734112915457.

6. Jan 19, 2017Hail$5.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Damage dollar amounts is a low estimate. Impacts are not fully known, but any individual car crash would likely exceed this amount.

7. Oct 13, 2009Flash Flood$3.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A debris flow initiated in a seasonal stream bed rushing hundreds of feet downhill into a driveway and home on Upper Highland Road near Eureka Canyon Road. A car and one side of a home were buried in about nine feet of rock, dirt, wood chunks and water. The home was severely damaged and deemed unsafe and uninhabitable. Over thirty Santa Cruz county roads were closed and damaged in flash flooding and debris flows in the Santa Cruz Mountains. Two people were rescued from a vehicle when they got stuck in water along Eureka Canyon Road.

8. Jan 15, 2022Tsunami, Northern Monterey Bay$3.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   The tsunami caused at a minimum $3 million in damage to the Moss Landing Harbor District. Damage was inflicted on pilings, docks, the harbor channel and infrastructure. There is also potential damage to the shoreline and a possible need for dredging.||https://kion546.com/news/2022/03/04/funding-approved-for-damage-repairs-in-moss-landing-harbor-district-caused-by-tonga-tsunami/.

9. Dec 31, 2005Flood$2.5 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Widespread flooding occurred across the county, with at least 13 road closures reported due to mudslides as well a fallen trees and utility poles. In Soquel, downed trees and flooding from Soquel Creek closed many roads. About 13 homes were damaged by flooding from the creek in Felton as the San Lorenzo River spilled out of its banks. Much of the damage reported was for needed road repairs due to flooding and debris clearance. At 10 pm on 12/31 a California Highway Patrol Officer was killed as he responded to a spun-out vehicle on Highway 17 in the Santa Cruz moutains during heavy rain. An oncoming vehicle accidentaly hit the officer as he was on the side of the road - killing him…

10. Jan 1, 2006Flood$2.5 million
    National Weather Service narrative

    Flooding that began on December 31st continued into early 2006. At least 13 road closures were reported due to mudslides and fallen trees. About 13 homes were damaged by flooding in Felton as the San Lorenzo River spilled out of its banks. Much of the damage reported was for needed road repairs due to flooding and debris clearance. In Soquel, downed trees and flooding from Soquel Creek closed many roads.

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

110°FSep 3, 2017

All-time low

12°FDec 22, 1990

Warmest night

68°F2 times, most recently Sep 11, 1918

Coldest day

38°FJan 20, 1937

Wettest day

5.93 inFeb 14, 2000

Snowiest day

0.1 inJan 2, 2009

Hottest year

2015mean 61.0°F

Coldest year

1908mean 51.6°F

Wettest year

198348.35 in

Driest year

20133.51 in

Station Watsonville Wtr Wks (USC00049473), 95 ft elevation, 10.1 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1908 to October 26, 2026; 96.0% 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 USC00049473.
• 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.
• 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.