3,441 first-hand accounts of flood events in California, ranked by impact. Each is a NOAA-written narrative of the moment.
Sub-tropical jet stream aided in advecting sub-tropical moisture plume from over the Central Pacific into the California Coast starting March 9th through the 11th.
Read the full account →A powerful storm swept through all of California with high winds, periods of heavy rain, and locally heavy snow. Strong upslope flow off the Pacific and a high freezing level fueled larged amounts of rainfall on the coastal slopes.
Read the full account →A powerful atmospheric river brought heavy rainfall, widespread flooding and gusty winds to the area. Rainfall totals generally ranged from 2-6 inches across the coastal and valley areas with 6-16 inches across the mountains and foothills.
Read the full account →The heavy rains brought the Cosumnes River to record flows above designed limits for the protective levees. Twenty breaks occurred, with the largest near the town of Wilton in the southern end of the county.
Read the full account →A winter storm started out on the evening of Saturday, March 4 with heavy wet snow at the higher elevations and heavy rain and flooding at the lower elevations. Sustained 40 knot winds overnight caused heavy surf and several boats to lose their anchorage.
Read the full account →The third storm of the month brought more weather-related problems to Central and Southern California. Strong winds, gusting up to 70 mph, knocked down many trees and power lines. In Encino, the winds blew down Lang Oak, a one thousand year-old oak tree.
Read the full account →The second in a series of October storms brought with it heavy rain, thunderstorms, flash flooding, and funnel clouds. Very heavy rain upwards of 9 inches in the mountains caused serious flash flooding and debris flows in parts of the San Bernardino Mountains.
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 →An Atmospheric River in the middle of November brought light mountain snow, widespread rainfall with roadway flooding, gusty winds, and thunderstorms from November 12th through November 14th.
Read the full account →Following the departure of the winter storm which brought moderate to heavy precipitation and strong winds on February 4 and 5, a large upper trough moved into California during the morning of February 6 bringing with it another round of precipitation and gusty winds which…
Read the full account →A major winter storm moved in from the south on February 4th, bringing heavy rain, strong winds, thunderstorms and heavy mountain snow through February 7th. Damaging winds brought down trees and caused widespread power outages.
Read the full account →The first atmospheric river of the winter storm season created flooding across the North Bay between November 20 and 23. The atmospheric river was accompanied by a very rapidly intensifying cyclone that deepened by 66 millibars within 24 hours, easily meeting the criteria for…
Read the full account →A strong atmospheric storm brought moderate to heavy rain and a period of strong winds New Years Eve into early New Years Day, along with heavy high-elevation Sierra snow. There were 3 fatalities reported due to drowning.
Read the full account →A strong atmospheric storm brought moderate to heavy rain and a period of strong winds New Years Eve into early New Years Day, along with heavy high-elevation Sierra snow. There were 3 fatalities reported due to drowning.
Read the full account →A strong atmospheric storm brought moderate to heavy rain and a period of strong winds New Years Eve into early New Years Day, along with heavy high-elevation Sierra snow. There were 3 fatalities reported due to drowning.
Read the full account →A powerful atmospheric river brought very strong winds with moderate to heavy rain and renewed flooding of the already elevated waterways. There was flooding of roadways, urban areas, rivers, streams, and creeks.
Read the full account →A powerful atmospheric river brought very strong winds with moderate to heavy rain and renewed flooding of the already elevated waterways. There was flooding of roadways, urban areas, rivers, streams, and creeks.
Read the full account →An atmospheric river impacted the Bay Area on December 31st, resulting in significant rainfall across the San Francisco Bay Area. Initial forecasts called for the most intense rainband to progressively move south towards the Central Coast as the day went on.
Read the full account →A powerful atmospheric river brought heavy rainfall, widespread flooding and gusty winds to the area. Rainfall totals generally ranged from 2-6 inches across the coastal and valley areas with 6-16 inches across the mountains and foothills.
Read the full account →An atmospheric river moved into the California bight on March 10th, bringing heavy rainfall and mountain snow to Southern California. A closed upper low moved into the region on March 12, bringing a southerly moisture surge, resulting in more heavy rain (especially in the…
Read the full account →An atmospheric river took aim at Southern California for several days starting early on February 4th, with impacts lasting through February 9th.
Read the full account →A vigorous cold front swept through California on January 5th bringing widespread rainfall and gusty winds. Unstable air behind the frontal passage and sufficient low level shear allowed shallow thunderstorms to develop over the coastal waters, some of which contained rotating…
Read the full account →King Tides returned to the region in on the 15th and 16th of the month. High tide at San Francisco reached 6.9 feet above sea level Sunday morning. Minor roadway flooding was observed in Sausalito. These high tides also brought rough seas to the coast.
Read the full account →Deep-layer westerly flow aided in a persistent influx of moisture across the steep coastal terrain of Northwest California. Heavy rain occurred as a result, leading to rapid rises on creeks, streams and rivers.
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