Heat, Sonoma/Marin Counties
- When
- August 15, 4:00 PM PST
- Where
- Sonoma/Marin Counties forecast zone
- Deaths
- 4 direct, 0 indirect
Heat in California, August 15, 1996
A week-long stretch of temperatures over 100 degrees, topping at 110 degrees for two days, combined with higher-than-normal relative humidities led to 4 heat-related deaths in Kern County.
The toll
- Deaths
- 4
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- None recorded
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 1
Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.
What happened
The episode as NWS HNX wrote it up.
A week-long stretch of temperatures over 100 degrees, topping at 110 degrees for two days, combined with higher-than-normal relative humidities led to 4 heat-related deaths in Kern County.
Event by event
1 heat. Local standard time, as filed.
The people who died
As the offices recorded each death: direct deaths were caused by the weather itself, indirect ones by something it set in motion.
| Event | Date | Age | Sex | Where | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Heat, Sonoma/Marin Counties | 1996-08-15 | 88 | Female | Permanent Home | Direct |
| Heat, Sonoma/Marin Counties | 1996-08-15 | 74 | Male | Permanent Home | Direct |
| Heat, Sonoma/Marin Counties | 1996-08-14 | 62 | Male | Outside/Open Areas | Direct |
| Heat, Sonoma/Marin Counties | 1996-08-14 | 64 | Male | Other | Direct |
What these are
- Heat
- Heat below excessive heat criteria that still caused deaths, injuries or significant impacts.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Damaging Wind in Pennsylvania, August 15, 1996
- Flash Flood in Nebraska, August 15, 1996
- Lightning Strike in Ohio, August 15, 1996
- Hail in Wyoming, August 15, 1996
- Hail in Nebraska, August 15, 1996
- Drought in Kentucky, August 15 to 31, 1996
- Lightning Strike in West Virginia, August 15, 1996
- Damaging Wind in New York, August 15, 1996
- Drought in Missouri, August 15 to 31, 1996
- Damaging Wind in New York, August 15, 1996
- Heavy Rain in Puerto Rico, August 15 to 16, 1996
- Damaging Wind in New York, August 15, 1996
More
Every storm in California in 1996Every state in 1996This day in weather historyWarnings in California, August 1996
Sources
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5576827.