3,441 first-hand accounts of flood events in California, ranked by impact. Each is a NOAA-written narrative of the moment.
Widespread flooding continued into early 2006 after very heavy rains through December 31st brought 3 to 4 inches in a 24 hour period. Urban flooding initiated landslides that contributed to the damage, and small streams and creeks overflowed their banks.
Read the full account →The month began with a ridge of high pressure over the Great Basin and moderate easterly flow in the mid and upper levels. This allowed monsoon moisture to surge into the southern half of California August 1st-3rd.
Read the full account →Consistent rain lead to more than 3 inches of rain in a 30 hour period from mid-day on the 1st to the evening hours of the 2nd around the city of Visalia and over 3.5" of rain in the city of Tulare.
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 →Scattered to numerous thunderstorms developed over portions of eastern Riverside County during the afternoon hours on September 8th and some of the stronger storms produced very heavy rainfall with peak rain rates in excess of 2 inches per hour as shown by local radar.
Read the full account →Scattered monsoon thunderstorms developed across portions of Joshua Tree National Park during the afternoon hours on July 29th and some of the stronger storms produced locally heavy, flash-flood producing rains that primarily affected the northern portions of the park.
Read the full account →An atmospheric river event beginning early December 11th brought periods of heavy rainfall, flooding from overly saturated grounds and high river/stream water levels, and heavy snow above 7000 ft.
Read the full account →Widespread flash flooding resulted in the closure of the southbound 15 freeway between Highway 79 and Rainbow Valley Rd. De Portola Road was littered with debris and rocks. Many low water crossings were washed out.
Read the full account →Isolated to scattered thunderstorms continued over the mountains, deserts, and portions of the Inland Empire, producing flash flooding each afternoon and evening through the 7th, with a brief lull in activity on the 1st.
Read the full account →A significant surge of subtropical moisture arrived on the 29th ahead of a weather system coming up from Mexico. Combined with monsoonal moisture from the southeast, this resulted in scattered thunderstorms over the mountains, deserts, and portions of the Inland Empire each…
Read the full account →Isolated to scattered monsoon thunderstorms developed across the high terrain of Joshua Tree National Park during the afternoon hours on July 23rd. Some of the stronger storms generated locally heavy rains with peak rain rates in excess of 1 inch per hour.
Read the full account →Scattered thunderstorms developed across the lower deserts of Imperial County - from the Imperial Valley eastward to the lower Colorado River valley - during the afternoon and evening hours on September 25th.
Read the full account →The first in a series of low pressure systems, rotating around an upper level low pressure system centered off the coast of the Pacific Northwest, moved through the central California interior, during the night of the 16th into the 17th, bringing copious amounts of moisture to…
Read the full account →A closed upper low pressure system, combined with remnant tropical cyclone moisture, brought heavy rain and mountain snow to southern California. Across the area, 1 to 4 inches of rain fell, which was heaviest on the 19th and 20th.
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 →Considerable moisture from Hurricane Dolores to the south, along with monsoon moisture from the southeast resulted in widespread showers and thunderstorms over most of the HSA for the 17th-19th.
Read the full account →A moderate strength trough of low pressure swept through the SoCal Bight with gusty winds, mountain snow and heavy rainfall. Rainfall totals of 1-2 inches occurred over the coast and valleys, with isolated amounts of 6-8 inches along favored coastal slopes.
Read the full account →Monsoon thunderstorms with locally heavy rain developed over portions of Joshua Tree National Park during the middle of the afternoon on August 16th. The stronger storms generated intense rainfall that was sufficient to cause episodes of flash flooding within the park.
Read the full account →Torrential rain from an atmospheric river with locally heavy convective showers brought flash flooding to portions of the northern Sierra and Motherlode foothills.
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 →Tropical Storm Kay moving northward just west of Baja California pushed deep tropical moisture towards southern CA, where objective analysis showed PWATs in excess of 2 inches.
Read the full account →A powerful Pacific low pressure system spread considerable amounts of deep moisture into much of Imperial County during the day on March 12th and given impressive amounts of lift and instability, this resulted in widespread showers mixed with isolated to scattered thunderstorms.
Read the full account →A wet Pacific storm system brought scattered to numerous showers along with embedded thunderstorms to the deserts of far southeast California on March 20th.
Read the full account →The following stages occurred in the lower Sacramento River system:Location: Period(s) above flood stage: Maximum Crest/Date:Cache Creek at Rumsey 2nd--3rd 2.2 feet above flood stage/3rdThe following stages occurred in the lower San Joaquin River…
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