Flood, Central San Joaquin Valley
- When
- February 3, 6:30 AM PST to 6:00 PM PST
- Where
- Central San Joaquin Valley forecast zone
- Property damage
- $500,000
Flood in California, February 3, 1998
From Garzas Creek, flooding damaged 2 structures and 2 chicken farms by 0630 PST. Over 100K head of poultry died at this location 4 miles west of Gustine in West Merced County.
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- $500,000
- 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.
From Garzas Creek, flooding damaged 2 structures and 2 chicken farms by 0630 PST. Over 100K head of poultry died at this location 4 miles west of Gustine in West Merced County. By 1015 PST, 5 structures were flooded in Gustine from Garzas Creek. At a location 5 miles WNW of Los Banos 3 structures were flooded at 1000 PST with another 3 on the west side of Los Banos at 1100 PST from San Luis Creek. Los Banos area received 3.16 inches of rain in the previous 24 hours by 1000 PST on 2/3/98. In northeast Merced County numerous instances of stream flooding were occurring by 1116 PST. Los Banos Creek by midnight of 2/2/98 reached a flow of 14,480CFS into the Los Banos Creek Reservoir exceeding the 11,500CFS record flow set in 1955.
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
- Heavy Snow in Kentucky, February 3 to 6, 1998
- Heavy Snow in Kentucky, February 3 to 6, 1998
- Heavy Rain in West Virginia, February 3 to 4, 1998
- Ice Storm in Nebraska, February 3, 1998
- Flood in California, February 3 to 21, 1998
- Winter Storm in West Virginia, February 3 to 6, 1998
- Winter Storm in North Carolina, February 3 to 6, 1998
- Heavy Snow in Tennessee, February 3 to 4, 1998
- Heavy Snow in Kentucky, February 3 to 6, 1998
- High Wind in Nevada, February 3, 1998
- Flash Flooding and Heavy Snow in North Carolina, February 3 to 4, 1998
- Winter Storm in Ohio, February 3 to 6, 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: 5638682.