Tornado, Sonoma
- When
- December 5, 6:20 PM PST to 6:25 PM PST
- Where
- Sonoma County, Santa Rosa
- Rating
- F1
- Path length
- 1.5 mi
- Path width
- 150 yd
- Property damage
- $1.0 million
- Reported by
- EMERGENCY MANAGER
- Coordinates
- 38.450, -122.700
Tornadoes and High Wind in California, December 5 to 16, 1998
3 tornado, 1 high wind, as filed by the National Weather Service.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it. 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
- $1.3 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.
The radar
The Sacramento radar (KDAX), 89 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 02:17 UTC.
Event by event
3 tornado, 1 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Tornado, Contra Costa
- When
- December 5, 7:30 PM PST to 7:34 PM PST
- Where
- Contra Costa County, Richmond
- Rating
- F0
- Path length
- 1.5 mi
- Path width
- 150 yd
- Property damage
- $200,000
- Reported by
- NWS STORM SURVEY
- Coordinates
- 37.930, -122.350
Tornado, Santa Cruz
- When
- December 5, 8:30 PM PST to 8:32 PM PST
- Where
- Santa Cruz County, Santa Cruz
- Rating
- F0
- Path length
- 1 mi
- Path width
- 100 yd
- Property damage
- $50,000
- Reported by
- NWS STORM SURVEY
- Coordinates
- 36.980, -122.020
High Wind, Alameda / Contra Costa
- When
- December 16, 12:33 AM PST to 8:33 AM PST
- Where
- Alameda / Contra Costa forecast zone
- Measured
- 61 kt (70 mph)
- Property damage
- $50,000
- Reported by
- AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
What these are
- Tornado
- A violently rotating column of air in contact with the ground and extending from a thunderstorm, filed with its path, width and Fujita or Enhanced Fujita rating from the damage survey.
- High Wind
- Sustained non-thunderstorm winds of 40 mph or more for an hour, or gusts of 58 mph or more.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Winter Storm in California, December 5 to 6, 1998
- Tornado in California, December 5, 1998
- Dense Fog in Florida, December 5, 1998
- Heavy Snow in Colorado, December 5 to 6, 1998
- Heavy Snow in California, December 5, 1998
- High Wind in Alaska, December 5 to 7, 1998
- Heavy Snow in Washington, December 5, 1998
- Heavy Snow in Oregon, December 5 to 6, 1998
- Heavy Snow in Washington, December 5 to 6, 1998
- Heat in Oklahoma, December 5, 1998
- Heavy Snow in Colorado, December 5, 1998
- Flood in U.S. Virgin Islands, December 5, 1998
More
Every storm in California in 1998Every state in 1998This day in weather historyThe tornado archive for California, 1998Warnings in California, December 1998
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: 5674778, 5674779, 5674780, 5674781.