United StatesCaliforniaNWS, FEMA, USGSArchive to October 13, 2026

California: warnings and declarations in 2026

Name: California NWS warnings by type and year
Creator: AreaZine
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

The National Weather Service issued 368 warnings for California in 2026 through September, 30% below the average of 526 for those months in 2008-2025. The most frequent was the severe thunderstorm warning (117). FEMA has made 5 declarations for California this year.

Latest notices in California

USGSM2.7October 13, 2026
M2.7 earthquake, 15 km NE of Little Lake, CA
At 1:55 p.m. UTC, October 13, 2026
USGSM2.7October 13, 2026
M2.7 earthquake, 19 km WSW of Petrolia, CA
At 10:15 a.m. UTC, October 13, 2026
NWS EurekaWarningOctober 13, 2026
Freeze Warning: Southern Trinity, Northwestern Interior Mendocino, Northeastern Interior Mendocino and 3 more, CA
Expired 8:00 a.m. PDT, October 13, 2026
NWS Las VegasWarningOctober 12, 2026
Freeze Warning: Owens Valley North, CA
In force until 8:00 a.m. PDT, October 14, 2026
USGSM2.8October 12, 2026
M2.8 earthquake, 237 km W of Ferndale, California
At 6:34 p.m. UTC, October 12, 2026
USGSM3.4October 12, 2026
M3.4 earthquake, 29 km W of Petrolia, CA
At 3:21 p.m. UTC, October 12, 2026
USGSM2.5October 12, 2026
M2.5 earthquake, 26 km WSW of Petrolia, CA
At 12:13 p.m. UTC, October 12, 2026
NWS Las VegasWatchOctober 12, 2026
Freeze Watch: Owens Valley North, CA
In force until 10:00 a.m. PDT, October 14, 2026

All California notices

Which warnings, watches and advisories does California get?

Product	Yearly average 2008-2025	2025	2026 through September	Average, same months
Wind Advisory	343	327	183	246
Flood Advisory	296	655	254	219
Flash Flood Warning	177	236	51	152
Winter Weather Advisory	128	90	35	85
Severe Thunderstorm Warning	112	217	117	104
Dense Fog Advisory	107	188	67	54
Red Flag Warning	85	49	50	65
Frost Advisory	83	100	29	45
High Wind Warning	70	68	22	47
Winter Storm Warning	66	65	22	44
Freeze Warning	63	47	21	28
Fire Weather Watch	62	36	30	47
Winter Storm Watch	60	54	20	40
Lake Wind Advisory	52	33	55	39
High Wind Watch	51	49	15	35
High Surf Advisory	51	44	28	34
Flood Warning	48	70	21	38
Flash Flood Watch	35	2	0	27
Freeze Watch	33	17	6	14
Heat Advisory	30	46	64	28
Flood Watch	29	83	15	20
Extreme Heat Warning	28	25	35	28
Extreme Heat Watch	22	18	23	22
Coastal Flood Advisory	19	33	42	10
Dust Advisory (since 2018)	15	6	8	13
Blowing Dust Advisory	10	4	0	8
Tornado Warning	8	10	9	7
Dust Storm Warning	8	2	9	7
High Surf Warning	4	2	0	3
Snow Advisory	4	0	0	4
Freezing Fog Advisory	3	0	7	1
Cold Weather Advisory	2	25	20	1
Coastal Flood Warning	2	1	5	1
Snow and Blowing Advisory	2	0	0	2
Blizzard Warning	2	0	0	1
Coastal Flood Watch	1	2	0	1
Extreme Cold Warning	0	1	6	0
Extreme Cold Watch	0	0	1	0

Source: Iowa Environmental Mesonet archive of National Weather Service watches, warnings and advisories (VTEC); National Weather Service. Data as of October 13, 2026.

How many warnings does California get each year?

NWS warnings for California, 2008-2026

Every NWS warning (VTEC significance W) that covered part of California. 2026 is drawn as an outline: the year is not over.

The numbers

Year	Count
2026 (through September)	400
2025	794
2024	702
2023	894
2022	811
2021	626
2020	511
2019	767
2018	557
2017	1,041
2016	574
2015	659
2014	634
2013	657
2012	693
2011	559
2010	547
2009	440
2008	651

Source: Iowa Environmental Mesonet archive of National Weather Service watches, warnings and advisories (VTEC); National Weather Service. Data as of October 13, 2026.

When in the year?

California's warnings by month, 2008-2025

Sum of 2008-2025; the busiest month is labelled.

Source: Iowa Environmental Mesonet archive of National Weather Service watches, warnings and advisories (VTEC); National Weather Service. Data as of October 13, 2026.

FEMA declarations for California in 2026

FEMAFire managementAugust 4, 2026
FM-5662-CA: Fire, gann fire
1 designated area
FEMAFire managementJuly 26, 2026
FM-5652-CA: Fire, dove fire
1 designated area
FEMAEmergencyMay 25, 2026
EM-3646-CA: Chemical, chemical release
1 designated area
FEMAFire managementMay 20, 2026
FM-5636-CA: Fire, bain fire
1 designated area
FEMAFire managementMay 18, 2026
FM-5635-CA: Fire, sandy fire
1 designated area

Source: FEMA, OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries. Data as of October 11, 2026.

Recent earthquakes in California

USGSM2.7October 13, 2026
M2.7 earthquake, 15 km NE of Little Lake, CA
At 1:55 p.m. UTC, October 13, 2026
USGSM2.7October 13, 2026
M2.7 earthquake, 19 km WSW of Petrolia, CA
At 10:15 a.m. UTC, October 13, 2026
USGSM2.8October 12, 2026
M2.8 earthquake, 237 km W of Ferndale, California
At 6:34 p.m. UTC, October 12, 2026
USGSM3.4October 12, 2026
M3.4 earthquake, 29 km W of Petrolia, CA
At 3:21 p.m. UTC, October 12, 2026
USGSM2.5October 12, 2026
M2.5 earthquake, 26 km WSW of Petrolia, CA
At 12:13 p.m. UTC, October 12, 2026

Source: U.S. Geological Survey earthquake catalog.

Questions about California's warnings

How many weather warnings does California get a year?

An average of 673 NWS warnings a year in 2008-2025, and 794 in 2025.

What is the most common warning in California?

The flash flood warning: 177 a year on average in 2008-2025.

Where do the live warnings come from?

From the National Weather Service's alert feed (api.weather.gov), which AreaZine reads every few minutes. For a warning in force now, the NWS office page and NOAA Weather Radio are the first source; phones receive only the most dangerous warnings as Wireless Emergency Alerts.