How rare are tornadoes in California? Not as rare as you might think

A tornado formed in Montebello, Calif. on Wednesday, damaging industrial building roofs, cars, an injuring at least one person.

VIDEO: Montebello tornado was strongest in Los Angeles area since 1983


But the city, sitting east of East Los Angeles and southwest of San Gabriel Valley, is not the only area to see a tornado in the state.
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In fact, there have been 469 tornadoes reported between 1951 and 2022, according to data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

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On average, that's more than six per year. In the last three decades, there has been an average of more than nine in the state.



Los Angeles County has had the most tornadoes since 1951, at 45 reported.

Followed by San Bernardino County at 33, Fresno County at 31 and Orange County at 31.
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Of course, that's nowhere near some other states. Kansas, for example, saw 332 tornadoes reported between 2017 and 2022, an average of 55 per year. Oklahoma saw 494 tornadoes reported in those six years, an average of 82 per year.

But that doesn't mean Californians haven't felt the impacts:

• In Los Angeles on March 1, 1983 an F2 tornado caused $25 million in property damage and 30 injuries.

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• In Oroville in Butte County in 1994, an F2 tornado caused $5 million in damage and injured at least two.


• In Orange County in 1978, an F3 storm caused $2.5 million in property damage and injured at least six.

See our map below for more on the tornadoes that have hit California in the last seven decades.

Click here to open this map in a new window.