3,441 first-hand accounts of flood events in California, ranked by impact. Each is a NOAA-written narrative of the moment.
An exceptionally strong westerly jet-stream aloft, and a deep upper-level trough of low pressure off the coast, steered a barrage of weather systems through southern California for several days. The action started off with high winds and then heavy rain on the sixth.
Read the full account →Scattered thunderstorms produced heavy rain and severe wind gusts across the Inland Empire, mountains and deserts on Thursday, September 9, leading to flooding, debris flows and rock slides. Elevated convection also made it to the coast on September 9.
Read the full account →Enhanced monsoonal moisture surged into Southern California, producing heavy thunderstorms across the San Bernardino County Mountains, the Riverside County Mountains and the San Diego County Mountains.
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 →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 →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 →The month picked up where August left off, with an active monsoon pattern bringing periods of showers and thunderstorms to the mountains and deserts.
Read the full account →Two strong storms brought a range of significant weather impacts to northern interior California. The first storm was very wet and warm, the second not quite as wet but cooler with lower snow levels. Both storms brought strong, damaging winds.
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 →Very high surf caused by swell from north Pacific lows led to coastal flooding and damage across the Pacific coast of the San Francisco Bay Area and Central Coast. The Bodega Bay buoy reported a significant wave height of 28 ft at 4:20 AM.
Read the full account →Low pressure moving southeastward into central CA from the Pacific Northwest allowed subtropical moisture stream to be pumped into the region bringing heavy rainfall to the San Joaquin Valley and foothill areas. Orographic lifting caused intensification of rains at times.
Read the full account →A southwesterly swell brought several days of high surf to the beaches of Orange and San Diego Counties between the 6th and 9th. Surf peaked on the 7th and 8th, with 6-8 ft sets north of Del Mar and max sets to 15 ft at the Wedge.
Read the full account →A strong low pressure system made its way through Northern and Central California accompanied by deep tropical moisture and very strong winds. Heavy rain combined with the wind to cause numerous trees, tree limbs and pole/telephone powers to fall.
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 →Heavy rains and melting snow caused flooding and a massive mudslide near the town of Kyburz. US route 50, the main route from California to the south Lake Tahoe area, was closed for 17 days due to the mudslide and additional washouts.
Read the full account →Localized heavy rain developed over the San Bernardino Mountains in association with a fast-moving cold front and sharp, low pressure trough aloft. Between 1.5 and 2.0 inches of rain fell on a recently burned area southwest of Running Springs.
Read the full account →A strong, low latitude jet stream brought a series of storms through Southern California with periods of moderate to heavy rain/snow, thunderstorms, gusty winds, and high surf.
Read the full account →Widespread flooding occurred across the county, with at least 13 road closures reported due to mudslides as well a fallen trees and utility poles. In Soquel, downed trees and flooding from Soquel Creek closed many roads.
Read the full account →Scattered to numerous thunderstorms developed over the lower deserts of Imperial and eastern Riverside county during the afternoon and evening hours on July 19th.
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 →Monsoonal moisture moved into Southern California on August 15th and resulted in numerous showers and thunderstorms across the region. Heavy rain fell in the San Diego County Mountains on August 15th, and became more widespread on August 16th and 17th.
Read the full account →A moisture plume with a weak atmospheric river arrived on December 5th and brought rain to the region. On December 6th, a strong closed upper level low pressure brought an unstable air mass into Southern California with showers and thunderstorms, especially Orange and San Diego…
Read the full account →A low pressure system brought wind, snow, heavy rain, and some debris flows to Southern California from November 29th through 30th. Strong wind associated with the frontal boundary made its way through Southern California on the 29th, with heavy rain behind it.
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