Since 1854, at least 107 tropical cyclones affected the U.S. state of California, including a hurricane in 1858 that produced hurricane-force winds near San Diego. This averages to roughly once a year, although events are more likely during El Niño events. Although storms have occurred as early as June and as late as October, they are most likely during the month of September. Due to cold sea surface temperatures and the typical track of most Pacific hurricanes, there has only been one recorded landfall of a tropical storm in the state – a storm in 1939 that hit Los Angeles, killing 45 people after catching many residents off guard. There have been at least 13 other deadly tropical cyclones affecting California.
Typically, the greatest threat to California from tropical cyclones is rainfall, which can cause flash flooding when the precipitation accumulates quickly enough. Former Hurricane Kathleen in 1976 produced of rainfall along Mount San Gorgonio, which was the highest precipitation in the state related to an Atlantic or Pacific hurricane. Kathleen killed at least nine people in the state from heavy rainfall, with severe flooding affecting the city of Ocotillo. On some occasions, tropical cyclones have dropped the equivalent to a year's worth of rainfall, particularly in the deserts of southern California.
California occasionally experiences high surf and rip currents from distant but powerful hurricanes, such as Hurricane Guillermo in 1997, which killed a swimmer in Orange County. Although the state does not usually suffer from high winds, there have been eight tropical cyclones that have brought gale-force winds to California since 1850, including the hurricane of 1858 and the 1939 tropical storm. Those include the remnants of Tropical Storm Jennifer-Katherine in 1963, Hurricane Emily in 1965, and Hurricane Joanne in 1972. Tropical Storm Nora in 1997 entered the state, producing gale-force winds and heavy rainfall that led to four traffic deaths. The remnants of Hurricane Kay in 2022 produced flooding and wind gusts across southern California, killing one person. In August 2023, the remnants of Hurricane Hilary produced winds along with heavy rainfall, with floods killing one person. Most recently, floods triggered by Tropical Storm Mario in 2025 killed one person. In September 2026, swells from Hurricane Marie produced surf of up to 10 ft (3.0 m) that breached a seawall in Long Beach and forced the evacuation of oceanfront homes in Long Beach, Malibu, and Dana Point, without any reported deaths.
Climatology and warnings
The state of California rarely experiences Pacific hurricanes for various reasons. Typically, storms in the region move to the west or northwest, away from the North American mainland and out to sea. In addition, much of the coast of California experiences cold sea surface temperatures due to the California Current. As a result, the temperatures in the summer rarely rise above 24 °C (75 °F) in southern California, too cold to sustain intense tropical cyclones, and much cooler than the same latitude along the United States Atlantic coastline. Consequently, the primary threat from tropical cyclones in the region is not from winds, but from rainfall and flash floods. Occasionally, these storms enter southern California after making landfall along Mexico's Baja California peninsula, or otherwise in their dissipating stage. In other instances, an mid-latitude trough can draw moisture from a distant tropical cyclone. Northern California is rarely affected by tropical cyclones.
Roughly once a year, tropical cyclones affect the southwestern United States. The frequency of events increases during El Niño or La Nina events, such as 1932, 1939, 1963, 1965, 1972, 1976, 1977, 1982, 1997, 2014, 2015, 2022, 2023, 2025, and 2026. A record four tropical cyclones affected the state in September 1939, which set monthly precipitation records across the region. Included among the four was including the most recent tropical storm to make landfall in the state. Although tropical cyclones have affected the state between June and October, September is the month with the most events, which is when storms can be drawn northward by strong upper-level troughs.
Until around 1920, the United States Weather Bureau did not acknowledge the eastern Pacific Ocean as a tropical cyclone basin. After the unexpected 1939 Long Beach tropical storm, the weather bureau set up a forecast office for southern California in February 1940. Before 1965, the lack of satellite imagery meant that some tropical cyclones that affected the region were undetected. In the event a tropical cyclone threatens the state, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) issues a variety of advisories and bulletins, including tropical cyclone warnings and watches. The NHC can issue these advisories at one of seven locations along the Pacific coast, known as breakpoints, beginning at the Mexico–United States border, and continuing northward to Point Piedras Blancas. The first ever tropical storm watch or warning for the state was in 2023 during Hurricane Hilary.
List of tropical cyclones 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
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. Sometime before October 14, 1858 – Since this tropical cyclone is reported in a newspaper as being only "one of the most terrific and violent hurricanes ever noted", the report may imply the existence of an earlier hurricane in southern California. Other than occurring before the newspaper account was published (October 18, 1858), everything else about this "hurricane", including whether it even existed, is unknown. Before June or after October 1859 – A system considered to be a tropical cyclone made landfall between Cape Mendocino and San Francisco Bay. August 11–12, 1873 – Rain from a tropical storm fell on San Diego. The rain on August 12 set a record for wettest August day.
1900–1909 July 20–21, 1902 – A tropical cyclone struck the southern Baja California peninsula and dissipated, although the monsoon drew its moisture northward. San Diego recorded , which was the highest July rainfall total for the city until 2015 when it was surpassed by Hurricane Dolores. August 18–19, 1906 – A tropical cyclone traversed much of the Gulf of California before dissipating, spreading rainfall across southern California. Needles recorded from the storm, which was roughly 91% of its average annual precipitation.
1910s September 15, 1910 – A tropical cyclone dissipated southwest of Los Angeles, dropping rainfall across most of the state, especially along the coast. Ozena recorded of precipitation. August 26, 1915 – A tropical cyclone dissipated west of the Baja California peninsula, spreading rainfall across southern California. In a 90-minute period, Riverside recorded of precipitation, which is about 10 times of the city's average August rainfall. September 11–12, 1918 – A trough interacted with a dissipating hurricane to produce heavy rainfall across northern California. Red Bluff recorded , more than 20 times the average September rainfall. San Jose and Livermore recorded their largest daily rainfalls on September 12.
1920s September 10–13, 1920 – The remnants of a tropical cyclone moved into southeastern California, bringing light rainfall. August 20–21, 1921 – A tropical cyclone crossed Baja California into the Gulf of California, spreading rainfall across southern California. Calexico recorded of precipitation, more than its average annual rainfall. September 30, 1921 – A tropical cyclone struck northern Baja California and moved northeastward into the southwestern United States, bringing heavy rainfall. Blythe recorded over two days, more than its annual rainfall. September 18, 1929 – A hurricane dissipated west of the Baja California peninsula, although it spread moisture across southern California. Cuyamaca recorded .
1930s September 28–October 1, 1932 –A hurricane traversed most of the Gulf of California, spreading rainfall across California over four days. Tehachapi recorded of rainfall, of which more than half was recorded over a seven-hour period. The rains produced flash flooding that killed 15 people. Trains were derailed and buildings were washed away, with damages estimated at over $1 million. August 25, 1935 – A dissipating tropical cyclone moved ashore Point Conception in Santa Barbara County as a remnant low. The storm produced scattered thunderstorms across southern California. Riverside recorded of rainfall. August 9, 1936 – A hurricane tracked up the majority of the Gulf of California before dissipating, although it spread rainfall across southern California. September 4–7, 1939 – A hurricane struck the northern Baja California peninsula and interacted with a shortwave trough, bringing produced rainfall across southern California. The highest total was at Brawley, which was more than twice the average annual rainfall. There was heavy damage in the Coachella Valley in Mecca. September 11–12, 1939 – A tropical storm struck the western Baja California peninsula only six days after the previous storm. It dropped across the deserts of southern California. September 19–21, 1939 – Another tropical storm struck the western Baja California peninsula, with a peak rainfall of recorded in San Jacinto. September 25, 1939 – A tropical storm known as El Cordonazo, or The Lash of St. Francis, made landfall near Long Beach with sustained winds of 50 mph (85 km/h), which as of is the most recent tropical storm landfall in California. The storm killed 45 people across southern California, and another 48 people at sea, with residents caught unprepared. Rains related to the storm reached at Mount Wilson. Floodwaters deep inundated the eastern Coachella Valley. Damage reached $2 million.
1940s September 8–12 1941 – A hurricane struck Cabo San Lucas, but its remnants dropped light rainfall in southern California, reaching about . August 18, 1945 – The remnants of a hurricane produced thunderstorms in southern California, producing floodwaters deep in Mecca. September 9–10, 1945 – A tropical cyclone dissipated offshore northern Baja California, bringing about to the mountains of southern California. September 29–October 1, 1946 – A tropical storm moved ashore the northern Baja California peninsula, spreading heavy rainfall into the mountains of southern California. A cloudburst in San Bernardino dropped of rainfall in a 30-minute period, resulting in floods that damaged roads and orchards.
1950s August 27–29, 1951 – A tropical storm struck northern Baja California and produced a plume of rainfall across southern California, reaching in Blythe. Floods washed out several roads in the Imperial Valley. September 19–21, 1952 – A hurricane offshore the Baja California peninsula generated thunderstorms across the southwestern United States, reaching in the San Jacinto Mountains. July 16–19, 1954 – A hurricane struck the western Baja California peninsula, spreading rainfall into southern California that reached . Floods covered a nearly portion of U.S. 66.