Flood in California, December 22 to 23, 1996

Name: Flood in California, December 22 to 23, 1996
Start: 1996-12-22T17:00
End: 1996-12-23T06:00
Location: California

December 22 to 23, 1996 · NWS STO · 1 event in 1 county or zone

Heavy rain, snow melt, and large reservoir releases in anticipation of more rain caused the Tuolumne River to rise about one foot above flood stage.

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: $10,000
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 STO wrote it up.

Heavy rain, snow melt, and large reservoir releases in anticipation of more rain caused the Tuolumne River to rise about one foot above flood stage.

Event by event

1 flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Flood, Northern San Joaquin Valley

When: December 22, 5:00 PM PST to December 23, 6:00 AM PST
Where: Northern San Joaquin Valley forecast zone
Property damage: $10,000

What these are

Flood: Flooding that develops more slowly than a flash flood: rivers leaving their banks, or water standing over land for an extended time.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in California in 1996 Every state in 1996 This day in weather history Warnings in California, December 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: 5578682.