County storm facts

Storm prep for Sonoma County residents

Sonoma County has had 7,403 flood insurance claims since 1978, 30 federal disaster declarations for fires, storms, floods or mudslides since 1964, and 3 mapped wildfires that started here since 2021.

Local data from official sources, updated weekly. This snapshot: September 29, 2026. Alerts load live from the National Weather Service when you open this page.

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Source: National Weather Service alerts.

Forecasts for this county (NWS county zone CAC097) come from:

Source: National Weather Service (the exact query), data as of September 29, 2026.

Help right now

Live from FEMA and the Red Cross shelter list. Check your address on the home page for what’s nearest you.

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FEMA assistance

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Evacuation status

Live evacuation status isn’t shown here yet. Your county’s evacuation map has the current orders and warnings.

Road conditions

Closures, chain controls and incidents on state highways.

Recent burn areas

3 fires that started in Sonoma County since January 1, 2021 have a mapped perimeter, covering 1,416 acres in all.

Largest

FireYearAcres
Point20241,206
Woodside2026151
Point202259

Acres are each fire’s whole mapped area, which can reach past the county line.

Burned hillsides can’t soak up heavy rain, so mud and debris can rush downhill with little warning.

Source: NIFC WFIGS Interagency Fire Perimeters (the exact query), data as of September 29, 2026.

Flood history

7,403 flood insurance claims have been filed in Sonoma County since 1978. 969 of them were for floods from 2017 to 2026.

The years with the most claims: 1995 (1,731), 1986 (920), 2019 (735).

This is history, not a prediction. These are National Flood Insurance Program claims, so they only count insured buildings.

FEMA’s data runs through September 8, 2026.

Source: FEMA OpenFEMA, NFIP Redacted Claims (the exact query), data as of September 29, 2026.

Federal disaster declarations

Sonoma County has been part of 30 federal disaster declarations for fires, storms, floods or mudslides since 1964: 11 for fires and 19 for storms, floods or mudslides.

Most recent

  • Severe Winter Storms, Straight-line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, and MudslidesApril 3, 2023 · DR-4699-CA
  • Severe Winter Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and MudslidesMarch 10, 2023 · EM-3592-CA
  • Severe Winter Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and MudslidesJanuary 14, 2023 · DR-4683-CA

FEMA’s ids start with DR for a major disaster, EM for an emergency and FM for fire management.

Source: FEMA OpenFEMA, Disaster Declarations Summaries (the exact query), data as of September 29, 2026.

Coast and tsunami

The California Geological Survey maps tsunami hazard areas in Sonoma County. If you live, work or travel near the coast or bay shore, check whether your address is in one.

CGS tsunami hazard maps for Sonoma County

Source: California Geological Survey tsunami hazard areas (the exact query), data as of September 29, 2026.

Rain in past strong El Niño winters

October–March rainfall at the Santa Rosa weather station in past strong El Niño winters, compared with its 1991–2020 normal.

Oct–Mar rainfall in past strong El Niño winters, as % of the 1991–2020 normal — Santa Rosa

50%150%100%130%’57–58146%’72–73177%’82–8377%’91–92162%’97–98111%’23–24
Chart. Filled dots: at or above normal; open dots: below. Dashed line: 100% of normal. Driest: 1991-92 at 77% of normal. Wettest: 1982-83 at 177% of normal. 1991–2020 Oct–Mar normal: 28.44 inches. NOAA NCEI normals.

5 of the 6 strong El Niño winters on record at Santa Rosa were wetter than normal. They ranged from 77% of normal (1991-92) to 177% (1982-83) — a tendency, not a guarantee.

Santa Rosa: Oct–Mar rainfall, strong El Niño winters — data table
WinterONI (DJF)Oct–Mar total% of normalSource
1957-581.6937.07 in130%NOAA NCEI daily precipitation
1972-731.5541.49 in146%NOAA NCEI daily precipitation
1982-832.1450.31 in177%NOAA NCEI daily precipitation
1991-921.5421.86 in77%NOAA NCEI daily precipitation
1997-982.2246.20 in162%NOAA NCEI daily precipitation
2023-241.8431.68 in111%NOAA NCEI daily precipitation

1982-83 is totaled from 181 of 182 days (NCEI has no reading for the rest).

2023-24 is totaled from 175 of 183 days (NCEI has no reading for the rest).

NCEI has no complete record at this station for 2015-16.

Source: NOAA NCEI (the exact query), data as of September 29, 2026.

Local help

Alerts sign-up, free sandbags, evacuation zones and help lines for this county.

Power and internet outages

Power

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What about your street?

County numbers can’t tell you about your home. Check your address against the official flood, fire, landslide and tsunami maps.