3,441 first-hand accounts of flood events in California, ranked by impact. Each is a NOAA-written narrative of the moment.
A strong and very wet atmospheric storm brought extended periods of moderate to heavy rain and periods of strong winds to much of the region, along with heavy high-elevation snow.
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 →On Saturday September 7, a monsoonal easterly wind flow weather pattern set up and thunderstorms developed across the mountains and spread across the Inland Empire. Some of these storms had very heavy rainfall and prolific lightning.
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 →A strong low pressure system moved through central California on January 9 and 10. This system picked up a deep moisture fetch of tropical origin while tracking rapidly eastward across the Pacific and produced widespread heavy precipitation across the area between the morning of…
Read the full account →After one powerful storm struck Southern California in late February, a second storm arrived at the end of February and into early March. This second storm produced several additional feet of snow as well as high winds in the mountains, where many communities were already…
Read the full account →Tropical Storm Hilary brought abundant moisture along with strong winds to southern California on the 20th. In fact, Tropical Storm Warnings were issued for the first time in history along the southern California coast.
Read the full account →Two significant waves of precipitation associated with an atmospheric river brought heavy rain and higher elevation (mainly above 6500 feet) snowfall to northeast California.
Read the full account →An atmospheric river (300-400 IVT) brought widespread heavy rain to Southern California on April 6th. A few showers lingered into April 7th, but it was low impact.
Read the full account →A nearly stationary upper level low pressure system parked off the northern Baja California coast spread deep moisture northward and into Imperial County on January 20th.
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 →Widespread severe flooding affected many towns in Marin County including Fairfax, San Anselmo, Novato, Inverness, Ross and Mill Valley. Across the County, 1600 homes, 240 businesses and 225 government agencies were affected by the flood.
Read the full account →A deep southerly fetch of rich moisture up from the Gulf of California led to scattered to widespread heavy rainfall in Imperial and eastern Riverside counties during the afternoon of the 1st.
Read the full account →Large water releases from Pine Flat Dam resulted in flooding along portions of the Kings River between June 18 and June 29. Evacuations began at Riverland RV park near Kingsburg on June 18.
Read the full account →A large cold upper low pressure system dropped slowly southward off the California coast on February 24 and 25. This system brought 1.5 to 3 inches of liquid precipitation between the early morning of February 24 and the late morning of February 25 to the Sierra Nevada and…
Read the full account →A large upper trough off the Pacific Northwest coast pulled up a deep moisture fetch from the Pacific Ocean which spread inland into central California on March 9 and 10.
Read the full account →Widespread low-land flooding occurred across Sonoma County with mainstem river gages along the Russian River remaining above flood stage for several days. Devastating flooding occurred near the Russian River in Healdsburg as well as Guerneville.
Read the full account →Two significant waves of precipitation associated with an atmospheric river brought heavy rain and higher elevation (mainly above 6500 feet) snowfall to northeast California.
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 →A slow moving low pressure system brought several rounds of showers and thunderstorms across portions of southeast CA, mainly from the late morning through the late afternoon hours.
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 →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 →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 →An influx of monsoonal moisture impacted portions of the southwestern U.S. from August 29th through 31st. This brought multiple thunderstorms from the deserts of Southern California all the way to the coast, where areas saw gusty winds, heavy rain, and frequent lightning.
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