3,441 first-hand accounts of flood events in California, ranked by impact. Each is a NOAA-written narrative of the moment.
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 →The last in a series of strong, early season storms brought record heavy rain to the coast and valleys, and dumped two feet of snow at the mountain resorts.
Read the full account →Weak low pressure off the Southern California Coast entrained tropical moisture that resulted numerous rainfall report of 2.5 to 3 inches of rain in the Kern County Mountains around Frazier Park from the evening of the 17th into the morning of the 18th.
Read the full account →Severe thunderstorms rapidly formed at the intersection of the Elsinore Convergence Zone and the Banning Pass Arc/Convergence Zone near San Jacinto and Hemet.
Read the full account →An upper-level low developed off Point Conception by October 27, and slowly drifted northeast toward the central California coast. The low pulled a moist, tropical airmass, including remnants from former Tropical Storm Kiko, into the central California interior on the 29th.
Read the full account →Monsoon flow resulted in severe thunderstorms and flash flooding for a second straight day. Thunderstorms along the Elsinore Convergence Zone produced a severe microburst which resulted in damage to roofs, trees, and other property in the Lake Elsinore area.
Read the full account →The upper-level high pressure ridge moved inland on July 11th, with a low pressure area moving to along the coast. This pattern set up a southerly wind pattern over California, drawing up monsoonal moisture from the southeast on the 12th.
Read the full account →During an already very active month, the final storm of January left a considerable impact on many communities in Central California. An upper-level low pressure system dropped south along the California coast, kicking a low pressure system inland.
Read the full account →Runoff from the previous days heavy rains and severe weather progressed toward the northwest Fresno County town of Mendota during the night. Over the saturated farm ground, water reached Mendota early in the morning of the 13th causing local flooding and silting of city…
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 →An area of high pressure developed in the eastern Pacific around mid December, centered near Hawaii. This high pressure feature caused a series of major Pacific storms to ride over the high pressure and into California, carried by very strong upper-atmosphere winds (jet stream…
Read the full account →A strong low pressure trough approached the California coast during the night of December 9th-10th. High clouds ahead of the trough helped moderate overnight lows, preventing a third night of a widespread freeze.
Read the full account →By January 13th, the medium-range forecast models were becoming consistent in predicting a major precipitation event that would affect interior central California beginning the 17th and continuing for several days.
Read the full account →Thunderstorms developed on both mountain ranges forming the Vallecito Creek watershed. The outflow from these formed another thunderstorm that moved slowly downstream.
Read the full account →A warm front will bring an initial push of precipitation and light snow at higher elevations. A cutoff low will follow, with a converging moisture flux which brought broader precipitation to areas of Del Norte and Humboldt in the following days.
Read the full account →A warm front will bring an initial push of precipitation and light snow at higher elevations. A cutoff low will follow, with a converging moisture flux which brought broader precipitation to areas of Del Norte and Humboldt in the following days.
Read the full account →A warm front will bring an initial push of precipitation and light snow at higher elevations. A cutoff low will follow, with a converging moisture flux which brought broader precipitation to areas of Del Norte and Humboldt in the following days.
Read the full account →A warm front will bring an initial push of precipitation and light snow at higher elevations. A cutoff low will follow, with a converging moisture flux which brought broader precipitation to areas of Del Norte and Humboldt in the following days.
Read the full account →A warm front will bring an initial push of precipitation and light snow at higher elevations. A cutoff low will follow, with a converging moisture flux which brought broader precipitation to areas of Del Norte and Humboldt in the following days.
Read the full account →A warm front will bring an initial push of precipitation and light snow at higher elevations. A cutoff low will follow, with a converging moisture flux which brought broader precipitation to areas of Del Norte and Humboldt in the following days.
Read the full account →Persistant rains which measured for 34 continuous hours swelled Dry Creek over its banks in Rio Linda. Cherry Lane, 6th Street, as well as Curved Bridge Road were flooded. Twelve homeowners had water over their property.
Read the full account →A slow moving thunderstorm dropped 2.5 to 3 inches of rain over northeast San Diego County. A 10 foot wall of water was observed coming out of Borrego Palm Canyon, which stranded one car and six hikers, In San Felipe Wash, the water was running four feet deep, and Benson Dry…
Read the full account →Strong thunderstorm activity developed over the San Diego Mountains during the afternoon hours on the 11th, likely instigated by large-scale forcing for ascent from an upper-level low located to the south.
Read the full account →Heavy rain against the east side of Mount San Jacinto caused a flash flood to move down Palm Canyon wash, through Cathedral City, and down the White Water river through the towns of Coachella, Indio, Oasis, and Mecca.
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