3,441 first-hand accounts of flood events in California, ranked by impact. Each is a NOAA-written narrative of the moment.
Almost two inches of rain fell in a two hour period, causing low lying roads and most creeks to flood. In Carlsbad, 5 women tried to cross a flooded bridge in a car, which stalled midway then floated downstream and overturned. Two women escaped, the other three drowned.
Read the full account →The final...and deadliest...storm of the month struck Central and Southern California. Rainfall totals ranged from 1 to 4 inches over the coast with up to 14 inches in the mountains. Widespread urban and small stream flooding was reported.
Read the full account →A large levee break on the Feather River occurred as river flows equaled or exceeded the design parameters for the levee system. The results were 900 flooded homes and many people stranded on the roofs of homes and other high areas.
Read the full account →Steady light to moderate rain began falling over the burned areas of the San Bernardino Mountains on 0600 PST 12/24/03. Approximately 24 hours later, mud, rock, and debris flows were being reported along highways and roads leading into the mountain resort communities.
Read the full account →A powerful Pacific storm fed by warmer than normal El Nino conditions in the eastern Pacific, slammed into southern California with strong winds, thunderstorms, and very heavy rain. This was the final in a series of heavy storms which pummelled the region this month.
Read the full account →15 foot swell in association with a relatively high tide produced waves as high as 40 feet which broke trough the seawall in Capitola and flooded low lying streets and businesses. A number of boats were ripped from their moorings and washed ashore or sunk.
Read the full account →Historic flooding occurred on January 22nd. Heavy rainfall occurred between 8 am and noon across western San Diego county. The heaviest rainfall occurred between 9 am and 11 am in the east side of the city of San Diego in Encanto and Lemon Grove to Spring Valley.
Read the full account →A strong low pressure system moved through central California on January 9 and 10. This system picked up a deep moisture fetch of tropical origin while tracking rapidly eastward across the Pacific and produced widespread heavy precipitation across the area between the morning of…
Read the full account →A warm plume of moist tropical air brought a very active period of weather to the area between the evening of March 20 and the evening of March 22.
Read the full account →A similar pattern existed on the 31st compared to the previous day with an upper level low in the eastern Pacific near the west coast of the Baja Peninsula promoting diffluent flow across southeast California.
Read the full account →After a wet start to the month, a series of 3 storms traversed the region between the 19th and 24th of January. The storms produced flooding rains, extreme mountain snowfall, and strong winds from the coast to the deserts.
Read the full account →Continued increased releases at Pine Flat dam due to heavy snow melt runoff resulted in a continuation of flooding near the Kings River downstream of Pine Flat Dam through most of May.
Read the full account →The final...and deadliest...storm of the month struck Central and Southern California. Rainfall totals ranged from 1 to 4 inches over the coast with up to 14 inches in the mountains. Widespread urban and small stream flooding was reported.
Read the full account →Rain amounts of 2.0 to 2.5 inches...with peaks up to 3 inches... in the Southern Sierra Nevada foothills in East Merced and West Mariposa Counties lead to small streams running at bankfull in Merced County.
Read the full account →Flooding across portions of the Motherlode closed roads. Especially hard hit on the 2nd and 3rd, Amador County was declared a disaster area by the 3rd with 3 homes flooded.
Read the full account →Thunderstorms redeveloped during the afternoon and moved slowly west southwest down the valley. Rainfall rates were high with over an inch of rain falling in less than a half hour. Radar rainfall estimates were near three inches.
Read the full account →Over three inches of rain in less than an hour flooded 19 businesses and 125 homes in Yucca Valley. Twenty-one swift water rescues were performed on people trapped in their vehicles by flood waters.
Read the full account →A prolonged period of wet weather brought heavy snowfall and strong winds to the Sierra Nevada. Heaviest snowfall was observed from 12/24-12/26 when snow levels came down below the mountain passes.
Read the full account →A series of atmospheric rivers brought moderate to heavy precipitation to interior northern California in the third week of December through the Christmas holiday. A Convergence Zone set up over Redding/Shasta County around 1 PM on Sunday, December 21.
Read the full account →A strong trough and associated Pacific cold front swept into Southern California from the west, bringing strong winds, heavy snow and rain. The storm was noteworthy for the strong prefrontal southerly winds that produced significant tree damage over the coast and valleys.
Read the full account →A series of warm winter storms brought heavy rain, mudslides, flooding, and high winds to Northern California. - Levee overtopping, breaching, and river flooding occurred along the Feather and Sacramento mainstem rivers as well as along numerous smaller rivers, creeks, and…
Read the full account →A series of warm winter storms brought heavy rain, mudslides, flooding, and high winds to Northern California. - Levee overtopping, breaching, and river flooding occurred along the Feather and Sacramento mainstem rivers as well as along numerous smaller rivers, creeks, and…
Read the full account →A series of warm winter storms brought heavy rain, mudslides, flooding, and high winds to Northern California. - Levee overtopping, breaching, and river flooding occurred along the Feather and Sacramento mainstem rivers as well as along numerous smaller rivers, creeks, and…
Read the full account →Deep tropical moisture started to spread north and into far southeast California during the day on September 30th; the moisture spread into the area ahead of Hurricane Rosa and led to the development of isolated thunderstorms.
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