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California Flood Stories

3,441 first-hand accounts of flood events in California, ranked by impact. Each is a NOAA-written narrative of the moment.

Flood$30K damage

Fresno, CA · Apr 16, 1996

With severe thunderstorms occurring in Central California during the early to mid afternoon hours, locally heavy rain brought deep ponding of water in several locations of north Fresno. City intersections were flooded deep enough to strand cars.

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Flood

Fresno, CA · May 9, 2023

An upper trough moved across Central California on May 9. This system provided for enough instability for scattered thunderstorms to break out along the West Side Hills and the Sierra Nevada during the afternoon.

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Flood

Lassen, CA · Dec 22, 2025

Amounts of 2-6 of rain fell across NE CA and the Tahoe Basin, with snow levels dipping as low as 7000 feet. Up to 6 of snow fell at that elevation with 12-20 of snow above 8000 feet in the Tahoe Basin.

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Flood

Lassen, CA · Dec 22, 2025

Amounts of 2-6 of rain fell across NE CA and the Tahoe Basin, with snow levels dipping as low as 7000 feet. Up to 6 of snow fell at that elevation with 12-20 of snow above 8000 feet in the Tahoe Basin.

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Flood

Orange, CA · Jan 30, 2023

Another winter storm impacted Southern California January 30th through the 31st. A closed upper level low pressure system led to widespread rain in the coasts and valleys as well as a few inches of snow in the mountains, with the heaviest snow in the San Bernardino Mountains.

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Flash Flood

Riverside, CA · Jul 30, 2005

An approaching mid-level trough, combined with steep lapse rates, surface dewpoints in the low to mid 70s, and precipitable water values of around 2 inches helped trigger severe thunderstorms across the mountains and deserts during the afternoon and evening hours of the 30th.

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Flash Flood$50K damage

San Diego, CA · Jan 27, 2008

Upper-level low pressure parked off the coast caused several periods of heavy rain and snow across the area. Very heavy snow fell in the mountains near Wrightwood during the first few days of the storm.

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Flash Flood

Riverside, CA · Nov 21, 2013

A cold, upper-level closed low developed along the Central Coast and drifted south before stalling over southern California on the 23rd. Heavy showers began in the northern areas, spreading slowly south into San Diego County.

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Flood

Kern, CA · Jun 6, 2023

A closed low pressure system moved slowly eastward across southern California during the evening of June 6 and morning of June 7. Showers and thunderstorms developed over Kern, Kings and Tulare Counties during this time frame as the low moved through the area.

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Flood

Kern, CA · Jun 6, 2023

A closed low pressure system moved slowly eastward across southern California during the evening of June 6 and morning of June 7. Showers and thunderstorms developed over Kern, Kings and Tulare Counties during this time frame as the low moved through the area.

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Flood

Tulare, CA · Jun 7, 2023

A closed low pressure system moved slowly eastward across southern California during the evening of June 6 and morning of June 7. Showers and thunderstorms developed over Kern, Kings and Tulare Counties during this time frame as the low moved through the area.

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Flood

Tulare, CA · Jun 7, 2023

A closed low pressure system moved slowly eastward across southern California during the evening of June 6 and morning of June 7. Showers and thunderstorms developed over Kern, Kings and Tulare Counties during this time frame as the low moved through the area.

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Flood$15K damage

San Mateo, CA · Jan 19, 2010

The second in a series of significant storms brought strong winds and heavy rain to the San Francisco and Monterey Bay area. This storm developed over the Pacific Ocean with a strong parent low pressure based in the Gulf of Alaska.

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Coastal Flood

Orange County Coastal, CA · Dec 30, 2023

A strong, long-period swell from the west-northwest arrived in Southern California on December 27-28th, and persisted through the 30th. This led to the development of very large breaking wave heights, especially at the beaches of Southern California.

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Flash Flood$10K damage

Shasta, CA · Oct 3, 2008

There were periods of heavy rain from a Pacific storm on October 3rd and 4th. This brought rock and mud down onto several highways adjacent to areas that burned this past summer.

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Coastal Flood

North Bay Interior Valleys, CA · Jul 11, 2022

The highest astronomical tides of the year brought minor localized flooding to parts of the SF Bay Shoreline during the nights of July 11-15. The San Francisco Bay Buoy (9414290) reported water levels over 7 ft on four consecutive nights, peaking at 7.5 ft on the night of the…

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Coastal Flood

North Bay Interior Valleys, CA · Jul 12, 2022

The highest astronomical tides of the year brought minor localized flooding to parts of the SF Bay Shoreline during the nights of July 11-15. The San Francisco Bay Buoy (9414290) reported water levels over 7 ft on four consecutive nights, peaking at 7.5 ft on the night of the…

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Coastal Flood

North Bay Interior Valleys, CA · Jul 13, 2022

The highest astronomical tides of the year brought minor localized flooding to parts of the SF Bay Shoreline during the nights of July 11-15. The San Francisco Bay Buoy (9414290) reported water levels over 7 ft on four consecutive nights, peaking at 7.5 ft on the night of the…

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Flood

Solano, CA · Dec 18, 2023

A wet system brought periods of moderate to heavy rain with scattered thunderstorms. Lines of stronger thunderstorms brought local road flooding to portions of interior Northern California.

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Flood

San Joaquin, CA · Dec 18, 2023

A wet system brought periods of moderate to heavy rain with scattered thunderstorms. Lines of stronger thunderstorms brought local road flooding to portions of interior Northern California.

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Flood

Tehama, CA · Dec 19, 2023

A wet system brought periods of moderate to heavy rain with scattered thunderstorms. Lines of stronger thunderstorms brought local road flooding to portions of interior Northern California.

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Flood

El Dorado, CA · Dec 19, 2023

A wet system brought periods of moderate to heavy rain with scattered thunderstorms. Lines of stronger thunderstorms brought local road flooding to portions of interior Northern California.

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Flood

Stanislaus, CA · Dec 18, 2023

A wet system brought periods of moderate to heavy rain with scattered thunderstorms. Lines of stronger thunderstorms brought local road flooding to portions of interior Northern California.

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Flood

Sacramento, CA · Dec 18, 2023

A wet system brought periods of moderate to heavy rain with scattered thunderstorms. Lines of stronger thunderstorms brought local road flooding to portions of interior Northern California.

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