Heavy Rain, Lake
- When
- January 18, 10:00 AM PST to 3:00 PM PST
- Where
- Lake County, Countywide
- Coordinates
- 39.100, -122.753 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heavy Rain in California, January 18, 1998
75 inches of rain in 6 hours in downtown Sacramento was one of the lighter rainfall totals as a Pacific storm brought brief but heavy rain to the Sacramento and Northern San Joaquin Valleys and surrounding foothills. 27,000 customers across the area lost power at sometime during the storm.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 19 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. 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
- 2
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- None recorded
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 19
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 STO wrote it up.
0.75 inches of rain in 6 hours in downtown Sacramento was one of the lighter rainfall totals as a Pacific storm brought brief but heavy rain to the Sacramento and Northern San Joaquin Valleys and surrounding foothills. 27,000 customers across the area lost power at sometime during the storm. Numerous traffic accidents also occurred, including one near Loomis, CA in which two teens were drowned as their car flipped into a flooded ditch.
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
19 heavy rain. Local standard time, as filed.
Heavy Rain, Shasta
- When
- January 18, 10:00 AM PST to 3:00 PM PST
- Where
- Shasta County, Countywide
- Coordinates
- 40.764, -122.040 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heavy Rain, Tehama
- When
- January 18, 10:00 AM PST to 3:00 PM PST
- Where
- Tehama County, Countywide
- Coordinates
- 40.126, -122.234 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heavy Rain, Butte
- When
- January 18, 11:00 AM PST to 6:00 PM PST
- Where
- Butte County, Countywide
- Coordinates
- 39.667, -121.601 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heavy Rain, Colusa
- When
- January 18, 11:00 AM PST to 5:00 PM PST
- Where
- Colusa County, Countywide
- Coordinates
- 39.178, -122.237 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heavy Rain, Glenn
- When
- January 18, 11:00 AM PST to 5:00 PM PST
- Where
- Glenn County, Countywide
- Coordinates
- 39.598, -122.392 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heavy Rain, Solano
- When
- January 18, 11:00 AM PST to 6:00 PM PST
- Where
- Solano County, Countywide
- Coordinates
- 38.267, -121.940 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heavy Rain, Amador
- When
- January 18, 12:00 PM PST to 8:00 PM PST
- Where
- Amador County, Countywide
- Coordinates
- 38.446, -120.651 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heavy Rain, El Dorado
- When
- January 18, 12:00 PM PST to 10:00 PM PST
- Where
- El Dorado County, Countywide
- Coordinates
- 38.779, -120.525 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heavy Rain, Nevada
- When
- January 18, 12:00 PM PST to 10:00 PM PST
- Where
- Nevada County, Countywide
- Coordinates
- 39.301, -120.769 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heavy Rain, Placer
- When
- January 18, 12:00 PM PST to 10:00 PM PST
- Where
- Placer County, Countywide
- Deaths
- 2 direct, 0 indirect
- Coordinates
- 39.063, -120.718 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heavy Rain, Sacramento
- When
- January 18, 12:00 PM PST to 6:00 PM PST
- Where
- Sacramento County, Countywide
- Coordinates
- 38.449, -121.344 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heavy Rain, San Joaquin
- When
- January 18, 12:00 PM PST to 7:00 PM PST
- Where
- San Joaquin County, Countywide
- Coordinates
- 37.935, -121.271 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heavy Rain, Stanislaus
- When
- January 18, 12:00 PM PST to 7:00 PM PST
- Where
- Stanislaus County, Countywide
- Coordinates
- 37.559, -120.998 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heavy Rain, Sutter
- When
- January 18, 12:00 PM PST to 6:00 PM PST
- Where
- Sutter County, Countywide
- Coordinates
- 39.035, -121.695 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heavy Rain, Yolo
- When
- January 18, 12:00 PM PST to 6:00 PM PST
- Where
- Yolo County, Countywide
- Coordinates
- 38.687, -121.902 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heavy Rain, Yuba
- When
- January 18, 12:00 PM PST to 8:00 PM PST
- Where
- Yuba County, Countywide
- Coordinates
- 39.269, -121.351 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heavy Rain, Tuolumne
- When
- January 18, 1:00 PM PST to 10:00 PM PST
- Where
- Tuolumne County, Countywide
- Coordinates
- 38.028, -119.955 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heavy Rain, Calaveras
- When
- January 18, 2:00 PM PST to 10:00 PM PST
- Where
- Calaveras County, Countywide
- Coordinates
- 38.205, -120.554 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
The people who died
As the offices recorded each death: direct deaths were caused by the weather itself, indirect ones by something it set in motion.
| Event | Date | Age | Sex | Where | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Heavy Rain, Placer | 1998-01-18 | 17 | Male | Vehicle/Towed Trailer | Direct |
| Heavy Rain, Placer | 1998-01-18 | 16 | Male | Vehicle/Towed Trailer | Direct |
What these are
- Heavy Rain
- Rainfall totals unusual for the place and season that did not produce a flood.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Avalanche in Montana, January 18, 1998
- Avalanche in Washington, January 18, 1998
- Heavy Snow and Winter Weather in North Carolina, January 18 to 19, 1998
- Winter Storm in California, January 18 to 19, 1998
- Winter Storm and Heavy Rain in California, January 18 to 19, 1998
- Winter Storm in California, January 18 to 19, 1998
- Winter Storm in California, January 18 to 19, 1998
- Winter Storm in Nevada, January 18 to 19, 1998
- High Wind in Nevada, January 18, 1998
- High Wind in Alaska, January 18, 1998
- High Wind in Oregon, January 18, 1998
More
Every storm in California in 1998Every state in 1998This day in weather historyWarnings in California, January 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 2026-10-01. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5633143, 5633148, 5633152, 5633138, 5633140, 5633142, 5633149, 5633137, 5633141, 5633144, 5633145, 5633146, 5633147, 5633150, 5633151, 5633154, 5633155, 5633153, 5633139.