Sutter County
Population 98,787 (2025) 603 sq mi
Large wildfires have burned 2,041 acres of Sutter County since 1984, 57th most of 58 counties in California; the largest was the Butte Fire Fire in 2018.
Hazard fingerprint Each spoke is this county’s percentile among U.S. counties where that hazard occurs. How it is computed
- Tornado damage paths since 19506
- Wildfire burn scars since 19842
- Major flood years since 19785
At a glance
The record for Sutter County in eight numbers. Each links to its section below.
Tornadoes
About one every 13 years since 1950, none rated F3/EF3 or stronger.
Strongest
October 22, 2012
EF1, 2.0 mile path
100 yards wide.
Most recent
Saturday, February 2, 2019
EF0, 0.3 mile path
7 years ago.
Every recorded tornado
| Feb 2, 2019 | EF0 | 0.3 | 0 | 0 |
| Mar 26, 2014 | EF0 | 0.6 | 0 | 0 |
| Oct 22, 2012 | EF1 | 2.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jun 1, 2011 | EF0 | 5.1 | 0 | 0 |
| May 9, 2005 | F0 | 1.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Mar 29, 2005 | F0 | 0.2 | 0 | 0 |
- Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond the county. Deaths recorded within Sutter County: 0.
- 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.
Hurricanes and tropical storms
No tropical storm or hurricane has tracked within 100 miles since records began in 1851.
Wildfire and smoke
2,041 acres burned in 2 large fires since 1984, equal to 0.5% of the land.
Largest
July 31, 2018
Butte Fire, 1,021 acres
1,023 acres inside Sutter County.
Most recent
July 31, 2018
Butte Fire
1,021 acres in total.
Every large fire
| Butte Fire | 2018 | 1,023 | 1,021 |
| Unnamed | 1996 | 1,017 | 1,016 |
- 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
Smokiest year
2021: 59 days
Heavy smoke on 37 days in 2020, the most of any year.
Last 10 years
20.1 days a year
Medium or heavy smoke, 2016 to 2025.
2025
3 days
Medium or heavy smoke. 5 so far in 2026.
- 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.
Floods and flood insurance
199 federal flood insurance claims since 1980, with $3.0 million paid.
Most claims in one year
1997: 37 claims
$1.8 million paid.
2nd most
1998: 37 claims
$174,000 paid.
3rd most
2017: 33 claims
$363,000 paid.
Claims by ZIP code
| 95991 | 60 | $425,000 |
| 95993 | 38 | $164,000 |
| 95668 | 21 | $407,000 |
| 95957 | 20 | $1.5 million |
| 95953 | 18 | $122,000 |
| 95837 | 11 | $189,000 |
| 95992 | 10 | $33,000 |
| 95659 | 6 | $14,000 |
| 95674 | 5 | $49,000 |
Flood events since 1996
- Flood14
- Heavy Rain4
1 death recorded in flood events since 1996.
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
Most severe crest
March 1, 1940
Sacramento River at Tisdale Weir, 53.50 ft
1.90 feet above the 51.6 ft flood stage; minor flooding by today’s categories.
| Mar 1, 1940 | Sacramento River at Tisdale Weir | 53.50 | +1.90 |
| Jan 3, 1997 | Sacramento River at Tisdale Weir | 53.10 | +1.50 |
| Feb 8, 1942 | Sacramento River at Tisdale Weir | 52.90 | +1.30 |
| Feb 20, 1986 | Sacramento River at Tisdale Weir | 52.66 | +1.06 |
| Feb 20, 1986 | Sacramento River at Verona | 42.11 | +0.81 |
| Jan 2, 1997 | Sacramento River at Verona | 42.09 | +0.79 |
| Jan 19, 1974 | Sacramento River at Tisdale Weir | 52.20 | +0.60 |
| Jan 3, 2006 | Sacramento River at Tisdale Weir | 52.04 | +0.44 |
| Jan 12, 1995 | Sacramento River at Tisdale Weir | 51.80 | +0.20 |
| Feb 27, 1958 | Sacramento River at Tisdale Weir | 51.76 | +0.16 |
| Feb 21, 1958 | Sacramento River at Tisdale Weir | 51.75 | +0.15 |
| Jan 20, 1973 | Sacramento River at Tisdale Weir | 51.70 | +0.10 |
| Jan 17, 1956 | Sacramento River at Tisdale Weir | 51.19 | −0.41 |
| Dec 14, 1937 | Sacramento River at Tisdale Weir | 51.11 | −0.49 |
| Dec 24, 1955 | Sacramento River at Tisdale Weir | 51.03 | −0.57 |
| Mar 8, 2006 | Sacramento River at Tisdale Weir | 50.97 | −0.63 |
| Mar 17, 1995 | Sacramento River at Tisdale Weir | 50.55 | −1.05 |
| Feb 2, 1967 | Sacramento River at Tisdale Weir | 50.00 | −1.60 |
| Jan 23, 1993 | Sacramento River at Tisdale Weir | 50.00 | −1.60 |
| Feb 11, 2017 | Sacramento River at Fremont Weir | 37.78 | −1.72 |
| Feb 11, 2017 | Feather River at Nicolaus | 44.66 | −2.34 |
| Jan 24, 1969 | Sacramento River at Tisdale Weir | 49.00 | −2.60 |
| Jan 11, 2017 | Sacramento River at Fremont Weir | 36.71 | −2.79 |
| Dec 6, 1970 | Sacramento River at Tisdale Weir | 48.80 | −2.80 |
| Feb 10, 1960 | Sacramento River at Tisdale Weir | 48.80 | −2.80 |
River gauges
| Feather River at Boyd's Landing | 65.0 | 59.24 ft | 0 |
| Feather River at Nicolaus | 47.0 | 44.66 ft | 0 |
| Feather River at Yuba City Water Treatment Plant | 80.5 | 59.88 ft | 0 |
| Sacramento River at Fremont Weir | 39.5 | 37.78 ft | 0 |
| Sacramento River at Tisdale Weir | 51.6 | 53.50 ft | 0 |
| Sacramento River at Verona | 41.3 | 42.11 ft | 0 |
| Sacramento River below Wilkins Slough | 52.7 | — | 0 |
- 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.
Drought
In severe drought or worse for 188 of 1,581 months since 1895 (12%); the longest spell lasted 21 months.
188
Months in severe drought or worse since 1895
94
Months in extreme drought
12%
Share of all months, severe or worse
Lowest reading
June 2021
−8.73, extreme drought
Longest severe spell
21 months
March 2020 to November 2021.
Latest month
September 2026
−2.26, moderate drought
Last severe month: August 2022.
- 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.
Earthquakes and volcanoes
60 earthquakes of magnitude 4 or more within 50 miles since 1900; the largest was magnitude 5.9 in 1909.
4
Magnitude 2.5+ inside the county since 1973
729
Magnitude 3+ within 50 miles since 1973
60
Magnitude 4+ within 50 miles since 1900
7
Magnitude 5+ within 50 miles since 1900
Largest within 50 miles
June 22, 1909
West of Downieville, California; 36.2 miles away.
Most recent, magnitude 3 or more
July 7, 2026
Magnitude 3.6
0 km W of Angwin, CA; 40.3 miles away.
Every earthquake of magnitude 4 or more within 50 miles
- 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).
- 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
| Clear Lake Volcanic Field | 46.0 | High |
| Lassen Volcanic Center | 82.2 | Very high |
- 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.
Severe weather and other events
33 events in the National Weather Service record, 33 of them since 1996.
4
Hail reports, 1 inch or larger
0
Hail, 2 inches or larger
1
Damaging gusts, 58 mph+
0
Winter weather events since 1996
0
Heat events since 1996
0
Cold events since 1996
Largest hail
May 5, 2016
1.25 inches
Strongest measured or estimated gust
February 2, 2019
58 mph
Costliest events since 1996
- Jan 1, 2006Flood$900,000
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…
- May 9, 2005Tornado$85,000
National Weather Service narrative
Damage to a commercial building and two residential out-buildings. Minor damage to several residences, property fences, and surrounding trees. Several plum (prune) trees were uprooted.
- Feb 2, 2019Tornado$5,000
National Weather Service narrative
National Weather Service meteorologists confirmed an EF0 tornado touched down at approximately 5:50 pm pst on Saturday, February 2nd, just south of Yuba City, CA. This tornado touch down was very brief as it tracked to the north northwest. Radar data and the damage pattern were used to confirm the touchdown. Several trees were knocked down and there was minor roof damage to a home. Leaves and branches were completely stripped off one side of a tree.
- 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.
Weather records
From Colusa 2 Ssw, 20.8 miles from the county’s population centre, with records from 1948.
- All-time high
- 114°FSep 7, 2022
- All-time low
- 14°F2 times, most recently Dec 16, 2022
- Warmest night
- 82°FJun 22, 2017
- Coldest day
- 27°FDec 22, 1990
- Wettest day
- 3.56 inFeb 2, 1998
- Snowiest day
- 3.6 inJan 19, 1949
- Hottest year
- 2017mean 63.7°F
- Coldest year
- 2010mean 59.6°F
- Wettest year
- 198335.68 in
- Driest year
- 19764.20 in
- Snowiest season
- 3.6 in1948-49
56 of 58 winters had no measurable snow.
Station Colusa 2 Ssw (USC00041948), 50 ft elevation, 20.8 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1948 to September 30, 2026; 87.2% 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.
Federal disaster declarations
20 since 1953. The most recent: Severe Winter Storms, Tornadoes, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides, April 13, 2024.
| Apr 13, 2024 | Severe Storm | DR-4769-CA |
| Jan 14, 2023 | Flood | DR-4683-CA |
| Jan 9, 2023 | Flood | EM-3591-CA |
| Mar 22, 2020 | Biological | DR-4482-CA |
| Mar 13, 2020 | Biological | EM-3428-CA |
| Apr 1, 2017 | Flood | DR-4308-CA |
| Feb 14, 2017 | Severe Storm | DR-4301-CA |
| Feb 14, 2017 | Dam/Levee Break | EM-3381-CA |
| Feb 3, 2006 | Severe Storm | DR-1628-CA |
| Sep 13, 2005 | Hurricane | EM-3248-CA |
| Feb 9, 1998 | Severe Storm | DR-1203-CA |
| Jan 4, 1997 | Severe Storm | DR-1155-CA |
| Mar 12, 1995 | Severe Storm | DR-1046-CA |
| Jan 10, 1995 | Severe Storm | DR-1044-CA |
| Feb 11, 1991 | Freezing | DR-894-CA |
| Feb 21, 1986 | Flood | DR-758-CA |
| Feb 9, 1983 | Coastal Storm | DR-677-CA |
| Jan 20, 1977 | Drought | EM-3023-CA |
| Feb 16, 1970 | Flood | DR-283-CA |
| Dec 24, 1964 | Flood | DR-183-CA |
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.
How this compares
Where Sutter County stands among 58 counties in California and 3,143 in the United States.
| Tornadoes since 1950 | 6 | 23 / 58 |
| Tornadoes rated F3/EF3 or stronger | 0 | — |
| Tropical cyclones within 50 mi | 0 | — |
| Hurricane-strength passes within 50 mi | 0 | — |
| Wildfire acres since 1984 | 2,041 | 57 / 58 |
| Flood insurance claims | 199 | 35 / 58 |
| Flood insurance paid | $3.0 million | 35 / 58 |
| Disaster declarations | 20 | 44 / 58 |
| Flood events since 1996 | 18 | 57 / 58 |
| Hail and wind events since 1996 | 5 | 54 / 58 |
| Winter storm events since 1996 | 0 | — |
| Reported damage since 1996 | $990,000 | 57 / 58 |
| River crests at major flood stage | 0 | — |
| High tide flooding days a year, last 10 years | 0.0 | — |
| Months in severe drought since 1895 | 188 | 25 / 58 |
| Medium or heavy smoke days a year, last 10 years | 20.1 | 16 / 58 |
| Earthquakes M4+ within 50 mi since 1900 | 60 | 58 / 58 |
| Earthquakes M2.5+ in the county since 1973 | 4 | 55 / 58 |
Neighbouring counties
| Butte County | 18 | 0 |
| Colusa County | 4 | 0 |
| Placer County | 6 | 0 |
| Sacramento County | 16 | 0 |
| Yolo County | 4 | 0 |
| Yuba County | 4 | 0 |
Sources and vintage
Every number on this page comes from these public records.
- 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 USC00041948.
- 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.
- 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.