Flood, Surprise Valley
- When
- January 1, 12:00 AM PST to January 17, 12:00 AM PST
- Where
- Surprise Valley forecast zone
- Property damage
- $330 million
- Coordinates
- 41.590, -120.725 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Flooding in California, January 1 to 17, 1997
Please see flood summary under Nevada zones from 1/01/97 to 1/17/97.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 4 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
- 2
- Property damage
- $330 million
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 4
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 REV wrote it up.
Please see flood summary under Nevada zones from 1/01/97 to 1/17/97.
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
4 flood. Local standard time, as filed.
Flood, Lassen/Eastern Plumas/Eastern Sierra
- When
- January 1, 12:00 AM PST to January 17, 12:00 AM PST
- Where
- Lassen/Eastern Plumas/Eastern Sierra forecast zone
- Injuries
- 1 direct, 0 indirect
- Coordinates
- 40.086, -120.650 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Flood, Greater Lake Tahoe Area
- When
- January 1, 12:00 AM PST to January 17, 12:00 AM PST
- Where
- Greater Lake Tahoe Area forecast zone
- Injuries
- 1 direct, 0 indirect
- Coordinates
- 38.935, -120.458 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Flood, Mono
- When
- January 1, 12:00 AM PST to January 17, 12:00 AM PST
- Where
- Mono forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 37.939, -118.887 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
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
- Flooding in Nevada, January 1 to 17, 1997
- Flooding in Washington, January 1 to 3, 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
- Flash Flood in California, January 1, 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: 5590161, 5590162, 5590163, 5590164.