Heavy Rain, Orange
- When
- March 25, 11:00 AM PST to 3:00 PM PST
- Where
- Orange County, San Clemente
- Coordinates
- 33.677, -117.776 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Flood and Heavy Rain in California, March 25, 1998
A strong upper-level low pressure trough moved into southwestern California accompanied by areas of heavy rain and snow in the mountains. Most flooding was minor, but the rain was particularly heavy in San Clemente around midday when 3 to 4 inches of rain fell in just four hours.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 2 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
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- None recorded
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 2
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 SGX wrote it up.
A strong upper-level low pressure trough moved into southwestern California accompanied by areas of heavy rain and snow in the mountains. Most flooding was minor, but the rain was particularly heavy in San Clemente around midday when 3 to 4 inches of rain fell in just four hours. Water was gushing so hard down streets, that it pushed parked cars around and impeded uphill travel. City Hall was inundated with calls reporting flooding in homes and businesses.
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
1 heavy rain, 1 flood. Local standard time, as filed.
Flood, Orange
- When
- March 25, 12:00 PM PST to 4:00 PM PST
- Where
- Orange County, San Clemente
- Coordinates
- 33.677, -117.776 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
What these are
- Heavy Rain
- Rainfall totals unusual for the place and season that did not produce a flood.
- 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
- Flood in Colorado, March 25 to 26, 1998
- Funnel Clouds in California, March 25, 1998
- Flood in California, March 25, 1998
- Funnel Cloud in California, March 25, 1998
- Funnel Cloud in California, March 25, 1998
- Heavy Snow in Alaska, March 25 to 27, 1998
- Funnel Cloud in California, March 25, 1998
- Heavy Snow in Nevada, March 25 to 26, 1998
More
Every storm in California in 1998Every state in 1998This day in weather historyWarnings in California, March 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: 5632180, 5632181.