Alert archive / California / Flash Flood Warnings

Flash Flood Warnings in California, 2026

46 flash flood warnings in 2026. An alert counts here when it covered any part of the state, so the counties below add up to more than the state. The archive of flash flood warnings reaches back to 1986.

Flash Flood Warnings by county

Each county as a circle sized by its count in 2026. Tap one for its archive.

Flash Flood Warnings
46
Busiest month
August25 flash flood warnings
Busiest day
August 11, 202610 flash flood warnings

Over time

By month

Warning verification

How often warnings here had a storm report inside them, and how much warning the reports had.

15 of 46 flash flood warnings covering California in 2026 had a flash flood report inside them; 44 of 152 flash flood reports fell inside a warning, on average 79 minutes after it went out.

California, 2026

WarningsWith a reportFalse alarm ratioReportsInside a warningMean lead time
Flash flood warnings461567%15229%79 min

Each office's whole area, 2026

WarningsWith a reportFalse alarm ratioReportsInside a warningMean lead time
NWS Hanford, CA: flash flood warnings080%
NWS Sacramento, CA: flash flood warnings10100%60%
NWS San Francisco Bay Area, CA: flash flood warnings0490%
NWS Eureka, CA: flash flood warnings2150%166%12 min
NWS San Diego, CA: flash flood warnings9189%425%13 min
NWS Los Angeles, CA: flash flood warnings11827%5265%91 min
NWS Las Vegas, NV: flash flood warnings42979%3749%97 min
NWS Phoenix, AZ: flash flood warnings743355%5587%80 min
NWS Medford, OR: flash flood warnings010%
NWS Reno, NV: flash flood warnings9456%2642%85 min

An office's figures cover every county it serves, including across state lines.

The year is still running; reports filed late and damage surveys can still change these figures.

Verified by the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's Cow, which matches each storm-based warning with the local storm reports inside its polygon while it was in force, within 15 km of its edge: a tornado warning counts as verified on a tornado report, a severe thunderstorm warning on hail of 1 inch or more, a gust of 58 mph or more, or wind damage, a flash flood warning on a flash flood report. The false alarm ratio is the share of warnings with no such report; "inside a warning" is the probability of detection, the share of reports that fell inside one; lead time runs from the warning's issue to each report inside it, counting zero for a report that came first. A warning with no report is not proof nothing happened: reports come from spotters, the public and damage surveys, and are thin where few people live.

The alerts

Every alert, in the order issued. Times are local, Pacific Time. Each opens its own page with the text, the map, the radar and the sounding.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jan 1, 6:33 AM PSTFlash Flood WarningSGXSan Diego3 hr
Jan 3, 9:00 AM PSTFlash Flood Warning Considerable damage threatLOXSanta Barbara3 hr
Jan 3, 10:55 AM PSTFlash Flood Warning Considerable damage threatLOXSanta Barbara3 hr
Jan 3, 12:16 PM PSTFlash Flood WarningLOXSanta Barbara44 min
Jan 3, 12:24 PM PSTFlash Flood WarningEKAHumboldt4 hr
Jan 4, 10:55 AM PSTFlash Flood WarningLOXVentura80 min
Feb 11, 1:43 AM PSTFlash Flood WarningLOXLos Angeles92 min
Feb 11, 3:28 AM PSTFlash Flood WarningLOXLos Angeles92 min
Feb 16, 10:23 AM PSTFlash Flood WarningLOXLos Angeles6 hr
Feb 16, 10:57 AM PSTFlash Flood WarningLOXLos Angeles6 hr
Feb 16, 11:28 AM PSTFlash Flood Warning Considerable damage threatLOXLos Angeles5 hr
Feb 16, 12:01 PM PSTFlash Flood WarningLOXLos Angeles4 hr
Apr 10, 5:21 PM PDTFlash Flood WarningSTOColusa114 min
May 22, 6:52 PM PDTFlash Flood WarningEKATrinity2 hr
Jul 17, 6:44 PM PDTFlash Flood Warning Considerable damage threatVEFSan Bernardino3 hr
Jul 24, 4:27 PM PDTFlash Flood Warning Considerable damage threatVEFInyo3 hr
Aug 8, 4:47 PM PDTFlash Flood WarningREVMono118 min
Aug 9, 5:54 PM PDTFlash Flood WarningSGXSan Diego60 min
Aug 10, 3:21 PM PDTFlash Flood Warning Considerable damage threatSGXRiverside117 min
Aug 10, 7:22 PM PDTFlash Flood Warning Considerable damage threatVEFSan Bernardino113 min
Aug 11, 1:08 PM PDTFlash Flood WarningLOXVentura3 hr
Aug 11, 1:54 PM PDTFlash Flood Warning Considerable damage threatSGXRiverside, San Diego2 hr
Aug 11, 2:13 PM PDTFlash Flood Warning Considerable damage threatSGXSan Diego109 min
Aug 11, 2:53 PM PDTFlash Flood Warning Considerable damage threatSGXSan Diego67 min
Aug 11, 2:54 PM PDTFlash Flood Warning Considerable damage threatSGXSan Diego66 min
Aug 11, 3:26 PM PDTFlash Flood Warning Considerable damage threatVEFSan Bernardino3 hr
Aug 11, 4:18 PM PDTFlash Flood Warning Considerable damage threatVEFSan Bernardino3 hr
Aug 11, 4:24 PM PDTFlash Flood Warning Considerable damage threatVEFInyo3 hr
Aug 11, 4:42 PM PDTFlash Flood Warning Considerable damage threatVEFSan Bernardino3 hr
Aug 11, 6:46 PM PDTFlash Flood Warning Considerable damage threatVEFSan Bernardino3 hr
Aug 12, 1:55 PM PDTFlash Flood Warning Considerable damage threatVEFSan Bernardino3 hr
Aug 12, 4:00 PM PDTFlash Flood Warning Considerable damage threatVEFSan Bernardino4 hr
Aug 12, 4:01 PM PDTFlash Flood Warning Considerable damage threatPSRImperial3 hr
Aug 12, 4:35 PM PDTFlash Flood Warning Considerable damage threatPSRImperial3 hr
Aug 12, 6:25 PM PDTFlash Flood Warning Considerable damage threatPSRRiverside5 hr
Aug 12, 6:39 PM PDTFlash Flood Warning Considerable damage threatVEFSan Bernardino3 hr
Aug 12, 8:04 PM PDTFlash Flood Warning Considerable damage threatVEFSan Bernardino3 hr
Aug 13, 1:23 PM PDTFlash Flood Warning Considerable damage threatVEFSan Bernardino3 hr
Aug 15, 3:44 PM PDTFlash Flood Warning Considerable damage threatVEFSan Bernardino3 hr
Aug 15, 4:16 PM PDTFlash Flood Warning Considerable damage threatPSRRiverside3 hr
Aug 15, 4:46 PM PDTFlash Flood Warning Considerable damage threatVEFSan Bernardino3 hr
Sep 1, 7:07 PM PDTFlash Flood Warning Considerable damage threatPSRImperial3 hr
Sep 16, 5:52 PM PDTFlash Flood Warning Considerable damage threatVEFSan Bernardino4 hr
Sep 24, 2:33 PM PDTFlash Flood Warning Considerable damage threatSGXRiverside90 min
Sep 24, 3:15 PM PDTFlash Flood Warning Considerable damage threatVEFSan Bernardino3 hr
Sep 24, 4:32 PM PDTFlash Flood Warning Considerable damage threatSGXRiverside, San Bernardino118 min

By county

Every county with at least one alert. A county page lists each alert that covered it.

The busiest days

Days with the most alerts issued, by UTC date.

Nearby

Alerts in force nowTornadoes on recordThe radar archive2025

Sources

National Weather Service watches, warnings, advisories and statements from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's VTEC archive, which reconstructs tornado, severe thunderstorm, flash flood and marine warnings back to 1986 from the NWS text archive. Storm Prediction Center watches and mesoscale discussions from SPC's archive through the Mesonet. County centers from the US Census Bureau. Warning verification from the Mesonet's Cow. Rebuilt daily.