Flood in California, September 25, 1997

Name: Flood in California, September 25, 1997
Start: 1997-09-25T04:00
End: 1997-09-25T08:00
Location: California

September 25, 1997 · NWS SGX · 1 event in 1 county or zone

1 flood, as filed by the National Weather Service.

The toll

Deaths: 0
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.

Event by event

1 flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Flood, Orange County Coastal Plain

When: September 25, 4:00 AM PST to 8:00 AM PST
Where: Orange County Coastal Plain forecast zone

A combination of El Nino conditions in the Eastern Pacific, a large northwest swell from a storm in the Gulf of Alaska, Hurricane Nora, and high tides, sent 5 to 8 foot waves past the shore, flooding a 14 block stretch of Seal Beach. Most houses escaped major flooding, as water rose to porches and front doors, but stopped at sandbags placed just inside. Quick response by city crews helped keep damage to a minimum. Minor damage was confined to three homes, and a few garages were flooded.

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 1997 Every state in 1997 This day in weather history Warnings in California, September 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: 5614107.