Santa Cruz County, CA Weather Alerts
Every National Weather Service alert issued for Santa Cruz County, California, pushed to your phone within moments — county code CAC087, forecast zone 3 zones (CAZ529, CAZ512, CAZ509). Free with StormCast.
Download on Google PlayHow the NWS identifies Santa Cruz County
These are the identifiers the National Weather Service uses when it issues a warning here. StormCast watches CAC087 directly rather than matching on place names, which is why an alert arrives whether you are in Aptos or anywhere else in the county.
NWS County Code
CAC087
Forecast Zones
3 zones (CAZ529, CAZ512, CAZ509)
Forecast Office
Monterey (MTR)
Radar Station
KMUX
Towns covered in Santa Cruz County
An NWS alert for Santa Cruz County applies to all 14 of these communities. You do not need a separate alert for each one.
River gauges in and around Santa Cruz County
StormCast tracks 12 gauges near Santa Cruz County. Set a flood-stage alert on any of them to get notified before the water reaches you.
- San Lorenzo River (CA) at Big Trees
- San Lorenzo River (CA) at Santa Cruz
- Soquel Creek at Soquel
- Aptos Creek at Aptos
- Los Gatos Creek below Lake Elsman
- Los Gatos Creek Lake Elsman Diversion
- Los Gatos Creek Hooker
- Los Gatos Creek at Lake Elsman
- Guadalupe River Ostwald
- Los Gatos Creek at Williams Reservoir
- San Lorenzo River (CA) at Lomond Street Bridge
- Los Gatos Creek above Ryland Dam
Current conditions
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Alert types issued for Santa Cruz County
Tornado
Tornado Warning, Tornado Watch, Tornado Emergency and Severe Thunderstorm Warning.
How tornado alerts work →Flooding
Flash Flood Warning, Flood Watch, Flood Advisory and River Flood Warning.
How flood alerts work →Winter
Winter Storm Warning, Ice Storm Warning, Blizzard Warning and Winter Weather Advisory.
Winter warnings explained →Fire Weather
Red Flag Warning and Fire Weather Watch when conditions favor rapid fire spread.
Fire weather alerts →Heat & Cold
Excessive Heat Warning, Heat Advisory, Freeze Warning and Frost Advisory.
Frost & freeze alerts →Santa Cruz County weather alert questions
Which NWS forecast zone is Santa Cruz County in?
Santa Cruz County, California is NWS county code CAC087 and spans 3 forecast zones (CAZ529, CAZ512, CAZ509). Alerts for it are issued by the Monterey (MTR) Weather Forecast Office, and the nearest NEXRAD radar is KMUX.
Which towns in Santa Cruz County are covered?
All of them. NWS alerts are issued at the county and zone level, so a warning for Santa Cruz County covers every community inside it, including Aptos, Ben Lomond, Boulder Creek, Brookdale, Capitola, Davenport, Felton, Freedom, Los Gatos, Mount Hermon, Santa Cruz, Scotts Valley, Soquel and Watsonville.
Are there river gauges in Santa Cruz County?
Yes — StormCast monitors 12 river gauges in and around Santa Cruz County, including San Lorenzo River (CA) at Big Trees, San Lorenzo River (CA) at Santa Cruz, Soquel Creek at Soquel. You can set a flood-stage alert on any of them and get a push notification when the water rises.
How fast are alerts for Santa Cruz County delivered?
StormCast polls the NWS alert feed every 30 seconds. When a warning is issued for CAC087, the push notification goes out within moments — even with your screen off.