Heavy Rain, Sonoma
- When
- January 2, 4:00 AM PST
- Where
- Sonoma County, Sonoma
- Injuries
- 1 direct, 0 indirect
- Coordinates
- 38.525, -122.922 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heavy Rain in California, January 2 to 11, 1998
Rain slick roads caused auto accident
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 3 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
- 1
- Injuries
- 13
- Property damage
- None recorded
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 3
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 MTR wrote it up.
Rain slick roads caused auto accident
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
3 heavy rain. Local standard time, as filed.
Heavy Rain, San Mateo
- When
- January 2, 11:00 AM PST
- Where
- San Mateo County, San Mateo
- Injuries
- 12 direct, 0 indirect
- Coordinates
- 37.436, -122.356 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
rain slick roads caused several auto accidents
Heavy Rain, San Mateo
- When
- January 11, 10:00 AM PST
- Where
- San Mateo County, San Mateo
- Deaths
- 1 direct, 0 indirect
- Coordinates
- 37.436, -122.356 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
heavy rain contributed to auto accident
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, San Mateo | 1998-01-11 | Male | Other | 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
- Winter Storm in Oregon, January 2, 1998
- Storm Surge in Florida, January 2, 1998 to January 3, 1999
- Flood in Florida, January 2 to 31, 1998
- High Wind in Wyoming, January 2, 1998
- Winter Storm in Colorado, January 2 to 4, 1998
- Heavy Snow in Utah, January 2 to 3, 1998
- Heat in Wisconsin, January 2 to 4, 1998
- High Wind in Alaska, January 2 to 4, 1998
- Heavy Snow in Montana, January 2, 1998
- Heavy Snow in California, January 2, 1998
- Funnel Cloud in California, January 2, 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 2026-09-30. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5636118, 5636119, 5636120.