Hurricanes that affect California are mainly the remnants of hurricanes or tropical storms. In the twentieth century, only four eastern Pacific tropical cyclones have brought tropical storm-force winds to the
Continental United States: the
1939 Long Beach Tropical Storm,
Tropical Storm Joanne in 1972,
Tropical Storm Kathleen in 1976, and
Tropical Storm Nora in 1997.
Pre–1900 for the
1858 San Diego hurricane • After October 1854 – A system considered to be a tropical cyclone made landfall over
Northern California, just north of the
Golden Gate. • October 2, 1858 –
A hurricane near San Diego washed ships ashore and lashed the southern California coast with gale-force winds from San Diego to
Long Beach. In 2012, meteorologists Michael Chenoweth and Christopher Landsea assessed it as the only tropical cyclone on record to have produced hurricane-force winds in a small coastal area of southern California, although the storm was assessed as remaining offshore.
1920s • September 10–13, 1920 – The remnants of a
tropical cyclone moved into southeastern California, bringing light rainfall. • August 15–17, 1977 – Former
Hurricane Doreen dissipated near
San Clemente Island, after bringing a plume of moisture that spread across southern California. The highest rainfall was along Mt. San Jacinto. The storm killed four people and caused $25 million in damage, with hundreds of houses flooded.
1980s • June 29–30, 1980 – Moisture from
Hurricane Celia produced light rainfall in southern California. • August 11–14, 1983 –
Hurricane Ismael generated high waves that killed a woman in Orange County. The storm's remnants also spread rainfall across the state, reaching , which resulted in flooding that killed three people in San Bernardino. • September 20–21, 1983 – After dissipating offshore, the remnants of
Hurricane Manuel produced of rain in the deserts of southern California. • July 12, 1985 –
Tropical Depression Guillermo dissipated southwest of the state, spreading light rainfall across the state. • September 19–24, 1985 – Dissipating
Hurricane Terry interacted with a cold front to produce rainfall across southern California, which produced floods that washed out roads along the northern coast of the Salton Sea. • August 23, 1992 – The outskirts of
Tropical Storm Lester produced thunderstorms across the deserts of southern California, which produced flash flooding in Death Valley and along
US 95 and
CA 62. • August 19–20, 1997 – The remnants of
Tropical Storm Ignacio produced rainfall across the state, peaking at . In San Francisco, the rainfall total of around made it the wettest August on record. The storm also interacted with a ridge to produce gale-force winds across the state, which spread wildfires. • September 24 – 26, 1997 – After making landfall in Baja California,
Tropical Storm Nora crossed into the southwestern United States near the border of California and Arizona. Strong winds led to power outages that affected at least 125,000 people in the Los Angeles area. The main impacts were from heavy rainfall, which peaked at along Mount San Jacinto. The rains led to hundreds of traffic accidents, leading to four fatalities. High surf, with waves high, affected coastal areas from San Diego to Orange County, entering a few houses.
2000s • September 13–14, 2000 –
Hurricane Lane lashed the coast with waves, before the storm dissipated west of the state. The remnants of Lane triggered thunderstorms across California. • September 2–3, 2001 – The remnants of
Hurricane Flossie produced thunderstorms across southern California. Lightning struck four people, killing two of them. The rains also led to flash flooding and landslides in the San Bernardino Mountains. • September 30, 2001 – While over the northern Gulf of California,
Tropical Depression Juliette produced thunderstorms and a dust storm across the Coachella Valley, with a wind gust of recorded at Palm Springs International Airport. The winds knocked down trees and power lines. • September 3–4, 2002 – High surf from distant but powerful
Hurricane Hernan lashed the southern California coast with rip currents and up to waves. • November 8–9, 2002 – Former
Hurricane Huko interacted with a trough and produced rainfall across southern and central California, as well as a snowstorm in the Sierras that generated of snowfall at Chagoopa Plateau. • August 26, 2003 – The remnants of
Hurricane Ignacio produced thunderstorms across central California that generated 14 fires from lightning strikes, as well as causing power outages that affected 3,500 people. • September 5–6, 2004 – High surf from
Hurricane Howard hit the southern California coastline with waves, which led to more than 1,000 lifeguard rescues over the busy Labor Day Weekend. • September 20, 2004 – The remnants of
Hurricane Javier dropped of rainfall at Needles. • July 23, 2005 – The remnants of Atlantic
Hurricane Emily generated thunderstorms across southern California, producing rainfall that reached in
Hemet. • July 2006 – Thunderstorms and rainfall from the remnants of
Tropical Storm Emilia helped extinguish the
Horse Fire northeast of San Diego. • September 6, 2006 – Thunderstorms from the remnants of
Hurricane John brought some flash floods and mudslides to the
Inland Empire. • October 29, 2007 – Moisture from the remnants of
Tropical Storm Kiko combined with a cold front produced thunderstorms and flash flooding in Central California. The deluge trapped vehicles and caused the roof of a factory in Fresno to collapse. • July 11, 2009 – The remnants of
Tropical Storm Blanca brought cloudy conditions and some very light showers across portions of the state like the Bay Area. • September 4, 2009 – After
Hurricane Jimena struck the Baja California peninsula, its moisture generated thunderstorms across parts of southern California. Flash floods occurred in Ocotillo.
2010s in 2014 near peak intensity southwest of Mexico|250px|right • July 18–20, 2012 – The remnants of
Hurricane Fabio travelled north through California and Nevada into the
Pacific Northwest, producing light rainfall in some parts of California and setting daily rainfall records in locations which typically get little or no rainfall in July. • September 5–7, 2012 – Moisture from the remnants of
Tropical Storm John brought light, scattered showers to portions of the state, helping to aid in fighting fires in the
San Gabriel Mountains. • August 25–26, 2013 – Thunderstorms generated by the remnants of
Tropical Storm Ivo produced flash flooding that inundated a mobile home park in Borrego Springs. • August 26–29, 2014 – Large swells from
Hurricane Marie caused high waves that killed a surfer in Malibu. • September 8, 2014 – While dissipating west of the Baja California peninsula,
Hurricane Norbert generated thunderstorms and of rainfall, leading to mudslides and flash flooding in the deserts of southern California. The floods washed out a bridge along
U.S. 66 southwest of
Essex. • September 16–17, 2014 – After
Hurricane Odile struck the southern Baja California peninsula, it sent a plume of moisture into southern California that produced thunderstorms and flash flooding, leaving 6,000 people around San Diego without power. High winds also uprooted trees and flipped at least one airplane at
Montgomery Field Airport. • October 6–7, 2014 – High surf from
Hurricane Simon caused coastal flooding and rip currents. • June 9-10, 2015 – The remnants of
Hurricane Blanca brought showers to much of Southern California on June 9, breaking rainfall records there. The system also generated thunderstorms in
San Luis Obispo County, which led to flash flooding and a few mudslides. On June 10, the low-pressure system moved north and brought scattered showers to the
San Francisco Bay Area, breaking many rainfall records there as well. Lightning from the system also sparked many wildfires in Northern California. • July 18–19, 2015 – Moisture from former
Hurricane Dolores produced thunderstorms across southern California, with rainfall totals of up to . Lightning struck and killed a man in Bakersfield. The thunderstorms ignited a few wildfires, and also led to the first rainout of a
Los Angeles Angels baseball game since 1995. The floods also washed out a bridge along
I-10 near
Desert Center, temporarily shutting off the primary Phoenix-to-Los-Angeles route. • July 11–12, 2017 – Distant
Hurricane Eugene lashed the southern California coast with rip currents and waves, leading to hundreds of people requiring lifeguard rescue. • September 3–4, 2017 – After traversing the Baja California peninsula,
Tropical Storm Lidia produced scattered thunderstorms across southern California. In
Santa Barbara, the thunderstorms triggered a
microburst with winds of , strong enough to knock down a power line, injuring a man. • July 6–8, 2018 – Swells from distant
Hurricane Fabio brought rip currents and high surf up to along the state's southern coastline. • September 30 – October 1, 2018 – Moisture from
Tropical Storm Rosa produced thunderstorms and flash flooding, killing a driver near Mecca. • October 12, 2018 –
Tropical Storm Sergio struck the Baja California peninsula, and it spread thunderstorms across southern California, triggering flash floods in the Coahella Valley. Floodwaters along I-10 reached near Cactus City. • November 20, 2019 – The remnants of
Tropical Storm Raymond brought a heavy rainfall and snow in the mountains in Southern California, resulting in flooding along CA 99 in the Central Valley. Along the
Tijuana River, two people required rescue from floods.
2020s from Hurricane Hilary • August 16–17, 2020 – Moisture from
Tropical Storm Fausto triggered massive thunderstorms across portions of Northern California. The thunderstorms produced mostly
dry lightning, and sparked
367 wildfires across the state, several of which quickly exploded in size, threatening thousands of buildings and forcing thousands of people to evacuate. The massive
SCU Lightning Complex,
August Complex,
CZU Lightning Complex, and
North Complex fires were connected to the thunderstorms associated with Fausto. In San Francisco, a tree fell during the high winds, and thunderstorms produced wind gusts up to . • August 22, 2020 – Remnant moisture from
Hurricane Genevieve brought heavy rain to parts of Southern California, where a few large wildfires were occurring at the time. • October 10, 2020 – Remnant moisture from
Hurricane Marie was entrained into an extratropical cyclone heading towards the West Coast of the U.S., which brought heavy rain to parts of Northern California, Oregon, and Washington. • August 29-31, 2021- The remnants of Hurricane Nora did bring some rain to eastern California including Blythe, and even in Arizona. • September 9–10, 2022 –
Tropical Storm Kay transitioned into a post-tropical cyclone off the southern California coast, although its moisture produced heavy rainfall over several days.
Mount Laguna recorded of rainfall. The rains led to mudslides and debris flow, killing one woman in
Forest Falls. A strong pressure gradient produced strong downslope winds, reaching on
Cuyamaca Peak. The strong winds caused widespread power outages, affecting more than 63,000 people. • August 9–13, 2023 – Remnant moisture from
Tropical Storm Eugene caused isolated thunderstorms and light winds, with minimal rainfall in Southern California. The remnants moved further north and brought isolated thunderstorms to the
Sierra Nevada and the San Francisco Bay Area. • August 20–21, 2023 – Former
Hurricane Hilary dissipated over Baja California, producing a widespread area of strong winds and heavy rainfall across Southern California. The highest rainfall total was . Flash flooding swept away a mobile home in
Angelus Oaks, killing a woman. The floods also washed away roads, damaged houses, and caused mudslides. The region was drenched by record-breaking heavy rainfall and strong winds, flooding roads, and causing mudslides and rock slides. Wind gusts reached at
Magic Mountain. • September 8, 2023 – High waves from
Hurricane Jova produced high waves and rip currents, resulting in five people requiring rescue. • August 28, 2025 – Remnant moisture from
Tropical Storm Juliette brought light rain to
San Diego. • September 17, 2025 – Remnant moisture from
Tropical Storm Mario brought widespread rain and thunderstorms to many parts of California, causing flash flooding and mudslides. In
Barstow, floodwaters swept away a vehicle, killing a toddler. • September 30, 2025 – The remnants of
Hurricane Narda brought high surf to
Newport Beach. At least 80 people were rescued from rip currents generated by the storm. • October 10, 2025 – The remnants of
Hurricane Priscilla produced thunderstorms and wind gusts in
Riverside County. • October 13, 2025 – The remnants of
Tropical Storm Raymond caused heavy rainfall and flash flooding in San Bernardino County. ==Statistics==