3,441 first-hand accounts of flood events in California, ranked by impact. Each is a NOAA-written narrative of the moment.
Subtropical moisture from the remnants of Hurricane Linda brought widespread showers to most of the area, deserts included. The first isolated thunderstorm developed on the 6th in San Diego County as a moisture surge in monsoon warm upper level flow arrived.
Read the full account →An upper-level low from Baja cut underneath a large area of seasonably strong high pressure aloft, tapping into lingering monsoonal moisture to produce showers and thunderstorms over the mountains and deserts, as well as a few along the coastal areas, with heavy rain at times.
Read the full account →The second storm of the month struck Central and Southern California. Once again, strong winds, gustingup to 70 mph, knocked down many trees and power lines. Rainfall totals ranged from 1 to 3 inches overcoastal areas, up to 6 inches in the mountains.
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 →Thunderstorms formed in a southwest to northeast band during the evening from the Lucerne Valley through the northwest part of the Twentynine Palms Marine Corps Training Center and across I-40 into the Devils Playground.
Read the full account →A powerful early-season storm brought heavy rain and flash flooding to Central and Southern California. The storm dumped 1 to 4 inches of rainfall across coast and valley locations and between 6 and 12 inches of rain in the mountains.
Read the full account →A powerful Pacific storm brought heavy rain, snow, flash flooding, high winds and landslides to Central and Southern California. During the 5 day event, rainfall totals ranged from 3 to 10 inches over coastal areas with up to 32 inches in the mountains.
Read the full account →A series of powerful winter storms affected Central and Southern California between the 18th and 22nd of January. As this series of storms moved across the area, they brought heavy rain, flash flooding, gusty winds, heavy snow and even severe weather to the area.
Read the full account →A large Pacific plume of moisture ahead of an advancing trough of low pressure brought heavy rain and periods of serious flooding for nearly a week. The plume of moisture responsible was a form of an Atmospheric River.
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…
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…
Read the full account →A large Pacific plume of moisture ahead of an advancing trough of low pressure brought heavy rain and periods of serious flooding for nearly a week. The plume of moisture responsible was a form of an Atmospheric River.
Read the full account →The third in a series of significant storms brought strong winds and heavy rain to the San Francisco and Monterey Bay areas. This storm, the strongest of the week, developed over the Pacific Ocean with a strong parent low pressure based in the Gulf of Alaska.
Read the full account →A series of significant winter storms impacted the district during late November and early December 2012. The first storm arrived November 28 and then was followed by three more winter storms.
Read the full account →A potent and unseasonably cold storm moved through the San Francisco Bay Area and the cenrtal California coast producing brief heavy rain, small hail, strong wind and even a dusting of snow down to sea level.
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 monsoon thunderstorms developed across southwestern Imperial county during the afternoon hours on July 30th. Due to the very humid and unstable nature of the atmosphere, the storms produced locally heavy rainfall which led to episodes of flash flooding, followed by…
Read the full account →A major atmospheric river impacted Southern California February 13th through 15th bringing heavy rain and high winds. Over the course of 48 hours, many mountain locales recorded 8 to 10 inches of rain, with Palomar Mountain (San Diego County) recording over 10 inches of rain in…
Read the full account →Monsoonal moisture over the Southwest United States by the late afternoon/early evening of Wednesday, September 3rd, supported thunderstorm activity over the desert portions of Kern County and the northern Kern County Mountains.
Read the full account →A pair of winter storms associated with a vigorous, cold upper-low brought periods of high winds, heavy rain, and snow to the region from late on the 13th through the 17th.
Read the full account →The first strong cold front of the winter season moved slowly across Southwest California. Steady rain fell over a two day period. The heaviest amounts were in the mountains and ranged from over 10 inches in the San Bernardino Mountains to around 4 inches in the San Diego…
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 →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 →The combination of lingering tropical moisture from former hurricane Dolores and a weather disturbance moving into southern California led to intense thunderstorms with torrential rainfall across portions of eastern Riverside county during the afternoon hours on July 19th.
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