Flood, Kern County Mountains
- When
- February 23, 5:30 PM PST to February 25, 8:00 AM PST
- Where
- Kern County Mountains forecast zone
Flood in California, February 23 to 25, 1998
Steady rainfall in the Tehachapi Mountains led to Cuddy Creek flowing strong and high damaging homes along its path in Lake-of-the-Woods in Southwest Kern County. Unofficial reports were received of 6" of rain in 3 days (21st/22nd/and 23rd) causing problems by the afternoon of the 23rd along Cuddy Creek.
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.
What happened
The episode as NWS HNX wrote it up.
Steady rainfall in the Tehachapi Mountains led to Cuddy Creek flowing strong and high damaging homes along its path in Lake-of-the-Woods in Southwest Kern County. Unofficial reports were received of 6" of rain in 3 days (21st/22nd/and 23rd) causing problems by the afternoon of the 23rd along Cuddy Creek. In the Lake Isabella area...Bodfish Creek and Clear Creek flooded the Caliente-Bodfish Road and Erskine Creek just above the town of Lake Isabella washed over one lane of Lake Isabella Blvd by 1730 PST on Monday evening, 2/23/98. In the Weldon and Onyx area east of Lake Isabella, Kelso Creek began to flow heavily on the 23rd. Just above Weldon 1.5" of rain was observed on 2/22, an additional 1.75" on the 23rd, and the snowmelt runoff/lag was observed as a time delay of 12 hours by Tuesday morning the 24th with 1600CFS of flow at Weldon. Highway 178 was closed due to runoff over the roadway between East Lake Isabella and Walker Pass for a brief time on the 23rd.
Event by event
1 flood. Local standard time, as filed.
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
- Flash Flooding and Flood in California, February 23 to 24, 1998
- Tornado and Flash Flooding in California, February 23 to 24, 1998
- Flood in California, February 23 to 25, 1998
- Flash Flooding and Coastal Flood in Massachusetts, February 23 to 25, 1998
- Damaging Wind in California, February 23, 1998
- Heavy Snow in Nevada, February 23 to 24, 1998
- Heavy Snow in Pennsylvania, February 23, 1998
- Heavy Rain in New Jersey, February 23, 1998
- Winter Storm in New York, February 23 to 25, 1998
- Strong Wind and Heavy Rain in Rhode Island, February 23 to 25, 1998
- Coastal Flood and High Wind in New Jersey, February 23 to 24, 1998
- Heavy Snow in Pennsylvania, February 23 to 24, 1998
More
Every storm in California in 1998Every state in 1998This day in weather historyWarnings in California, February 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: 5639467.