California

Storms in California in 1998

1,057 events in 461 episodes

Every storm the National Weather Service filed in California in 1998, with each episode’s narrative and every event in it. From 1996 the record holds 48 kinds of event with each office’s narrative; before that, tornadoes, hail and thunderstorm wind only, and before 1955 tornadoes alone.

California in 1998 on the map

Every episode with a place to put it, colored by kind of event.

  • Tornadoes
  • Tropical storms and surge
  • Floods
  • Wind
  • Hail
  • Winter weather
  • Heat and drought
  • Cold
  • Fire, smoke and dust
  • Marine and coastal
  • Other

Open the live radar over California

The year

Events
1,057
Deaths
41
Injuries
241
Damage
$1.4 billion
Episodes
461

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.

By kind of event

Kind of eventEventsDeathsInjuriesDamage
High Wind16703$3.2 million
Heavy Snow14616$310,000
Flood130835$227 million
Flash Flood98128$21 million
Heavy Rain84313$356 million
Winter Storm7400$305,000
High Surf5213
Funnel Cloud4900
Thunderstorm Wind4700$656,000
Hail2600$714,000
Winter Weather2500
Tornado2535$139 million
Dense Fog256125$2.4 million
Cold/Wind Chill2200$598 million
Lightning1501$50,000
Wildfire15033$3.4 million
Waterspout1400
Strong Wind1200
Frost/Freeze800$83 million
Heat635
Dust Storm504$40,000
Storm Surge/Tide400$16,000
Coastal Flood300
Rip Current220
Avalanche100
Debris Flow100
Ice Storm120$1.0 million

Every episode, month by month

January 1998

February 1998

March 1998

April 1998

May 1998

June 1998

July 1998

August 1998

September 1998

October 1998

November 1998

December 1998

More

Every year in CaliforniaEvery state in 1998Tornadoes in California in 1998Warnings in California in 199819971999

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.