Los Gatos, CA Tornado History — 14 Tornadoes Since 1950
How many tornadoes has Los Gatos, CA had?
Los Gatos has had 14 tornadoes on record within 25 miles since 1950.
When was the most recent tornado near Los Gatos?
The most recent tornado within 25 miles of Los Gatos was an EF1 on December 14, 2024.
When is tornado season in Los Gatos?
December is historically the peak month for tornadoes near Los Gatos, with 5 on record. Spring through early summer (April–June) generally sees the highest activity across most of the central and southern United States.
At a Glance
Recent Tornado Activity Near Los Gatos
The last 20 years of confirmed tornadoes within 25 miles — 4 total, averaging 0.2 per year over this window.
Tornadoes by Decade
Tornadoes by Enhanced Fujita Rating
F0–F5 ratings (pre-2007) are grouped with their EF equivalents. The Enhanced Fujita scale replaced the original Fujita scale in February 2007.
Tornadoes by Month
Have any tornadoes near Los Gatos been fatal?
No fatalities are on record within 25 miles of Los Gatos from any of the 14 tornadoes since 1950, though 8 injuries have been reported. NOAA Storm Prediction Center records.
Notable Tornadoes Near Los Gatos
About Tornadoes in Los Gatos
This overview was written July 29, 2026. The tornado counts and notable-event figures elsewhere on this page reflect the latest data and may differ from this summary.
Los Gatos sits where the Santa Clara Valley meets the wooded foothills of the Santa Cruz Mountains, and its tornado history reads like a diary of California's wet season: the touchdowns near town have come largely with winter Pacific storms, on December and January dates, rather than in the spring pattern familiar farther east.
An F2 tornado struck on January 11, 1951, running 5.7 miles on a ribbon-thin path about 10 yards wide and doing $2,750,000 in property damage. Spring exceptions exist, though — an F1 on April 1, 1965, and again on May 6, 1998, when an F2 injured one person along a 0.6-mile path some 100 yards wide while an F1 touched down nearby the same day. Otherwise the ledger belongs to the cool months: an F1 on January 14, 1980, an F0 on February 3, 1986, F0s on December 8, 1997, February 7, 1998, and December 6, 1998, an F1 on December 21, 2001, an EF0 on December 22, 2012, and EF0 tornadoes on January 6, 2019.
The pattern carried into the present on December 14, 2024, when an EF1 tornado injured five people along a 0.31-mile path — a reminder that even in the South Bay's mild marine climate, a vigorous cool-season storm can still put a tornado on the ground.