Flash Flood, El Dorado
- When
- January 1, 9:00 AM PST to 7:00 PM PST
- Where
- El Dorado County, American River
- Property damage
- $10 million
- Coordinates
- 38.779, -120.525 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Flash Flood in California, January 1, 1997
Heavy rains and melting snow caused flooding and a massive mudslide near the town of Kyburz. US route 50, the main route from California to the south Lake Tahoe area, was closed for 17 days due to the mudslide and additional washouts.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 1 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.
- Tornadoes
- Tropical storms and surge
- Floods
- Wind
- Hail
- Winter weather
- Heat and drought
- Cold
- Fire, smoke and dust
- Marine and coastal
- Other
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- $10 million
- 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 rains and melting snow caused flooding and a massive mudslide near the town of Kyburz. US route 50, the main route from California to the south Lake Tahoe area, was closed for 17 days due to the mudslide and additional washouts. Numerous homes, cabins, resorts, and bridges sustained heavy damage or were destroyed completely. Small communities were isolated and without power for several days afterward.
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
1 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.
What these are
- Flash Flood
- Flooding that begins within six hours of the rain that causes it, or of a dam or levee failure or ice jam release, often with deadly speed.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Flooding in Nevada, January 1 to 17, 1997
- Flooding in Washington, January 1 to 3, 1997
- Flooding in California, January 1 to 17, 1997
- Storm Surge in California, January 1, 1997
- Flooding and High Wind in Oregon, January 1 to 5, 1997
- Drought in Texas, January 1 to 31, 1997
- Flood in California, January 1 to 3, 1997
- Flash Flood in California, January 1, 1997
- Flooding and High Wind in California, January 1 to 3, 1997
- Flood in Oregon, January 1 to 5, 1997
- Flood in California, January 1 to 2, 1997
- Flood in Oregon, January 1 to 4, 1997
More
Every storm in California in 1997Every state in 1997This day in weather historyWarnings in California, January 1997
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: 5590353.