Tornado History Map

Kern County, California tornado history

16 tornadoes recorded in or across Kern County from 1988 to 2019, coloured by rating on the map.

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Years1950 to 2025
Rating (F or EF scale)

Shows tornadoes that started in, or crossed, the chosen state. To see how many have passed near you, search a town or ZIP code, or tap the map.

Key
  • F0 / EF0 Light damage
  • F1 / EF1 Moderate damage
  • F2 / EF2 Considerable damage
  • F3 / EF3 Severe damage
  • F4 / EF4 Devastating damage
  • F5 / EF5 Incredible damage
  • Unknown Not rated (2007 onwards)

How to read the lines. Each line is one tornado, drawn from where it started to where it ended, coloured and sized by its rating. A dot means the record has no end point. Tap a line for its details, or tap anywhere else to see how many tornadoes have passed nearby. Weaker tornadoes appear as you zoom in. Ratings use the Fujita (F) scale before 1 February 2007 and the Enhanced Fujita (EF) scale from then on.

Tornadoes in Kern County

The Storm Prediction Center records 16 tornadoes whose paths touched Kern County, California between 1988 and 2019. None of them is recorded as having killed anyone. The busiest month is February, with 4 tornadoes. The strongest was an F1 on 17 March 1991. The most recent was on 2 June 2019.

  • 16tornadoes
  • 0deaths
  • 0injuries
  • 20per 10,000 sq mi of land

A tornado that crossed several counties counts in each one, so county counts add up to more than the state's.

How strong were the tornadoes in Kern County?

RatingTornadoesShare
F0 / EF01594%
F1 / EF116%
F2 / EF200%
F3 / EF300%
F4 / EF400%
F5 / EF500%
Unknown rating00%

Kern County tornadoes over time

Tornadoes by decade
Bar chart of tornadoes by period. The most is 9 in 1990s.1980s11990s92000s12010s5

The 2010s only run to 2019, so that bar is for a shorter period. The record starts in 1950.

Show the numbers
PeriodCount
1980s1
1990s9
2000s1
2010s5
Tornadoes by month
Bar chart of tornadoes by period. The most is 4 in Feb.Jan0Feb4Mar4Apr3May1Jun2Jul0Aug0Sep1Oct0Nov1Dec0
Show the numbers
PeriodCount
Jan0
Feb4
Mar4
Apr3
May1
Jun2
Jul0
Aug0
Sep1
Oct0
Nov1
Dec0

Records for Kern County

  • Strongest: California tornado17 March 1991, F1, 0.1 miles long
  • Longest path: California tornado1 September 2007, EF0, 13.1 miles long
  • Most recent: California tornado2 June 2019, EF0, 0.2 miles long

Many of these tornadoes killed or injured people. The numbers are the official record's, and they may be revised.

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