Heavy Rain, Orange
- When
- May 5, 9:00 AM PST to 9:30 AM PST
- Where
- Orange County, Costa Mesa
- Property damage
- $20,000
- Coordinates
- 33.677, -117.776 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heavy Rain and Strong Wind in California, May 5 to 6, 1998
Increasing moist, westerly flow around the base of a strengthening low pressure area aloft over central California, resulted in scattered showers and thunderstorms throughout southern California. In addition to local power outages from lightning strikes and gusty winds, a couple of damage reports were received.
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
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- $20,000
- 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 SGX wrote it up.
Increasing moist, westerly flow around the base of a strengthening low pressure area aloft over central California, resulted in scattered showers and thunderstorms throughout southern California. In addition to local power outages from lightning strikes and gusty winds, a couple of damage reports were received. Strong winds shredded metal roofing at an auto repair shop in Rialto and a 100 square-foot section of roof collapsed in heavy rain at a sports shop in Costa Mesa. During the early morning hours on the sixth, the Coast Guard reported a waterspout north of Point Loma.
The radar
The Santa Ana Mts radar (KSOX), 20 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 16:58 UTC.
Event by event
1 heavy rain, 1 strong wind, 1 waterspout. Local standard time, as filed.
Strong Wind, San Bernardino
- When
- May 5, 10:25 AM PST to 10:30 AM PST
- Where
- San Bernardino County, Rialto
- Coordinates
- 34.841, -116.178 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Waterspout, San Diego
- When
- May 6, 4:58 AM PST to 5:06 AM PST
- Where
- San Diego County, 1 mi WSW of North Is Nas
- Coordinates
- 33.028, -116.770 (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.
- Strong Wind
- Non-thunderstorm winds below high wind criteria that nonetheless caused damage or casualties.
- Waterspout
- A tornado over water. One that moves ashore is filed as a tornado from the coastline on.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Tornadoes in California, May 5, 1998
- Hail and Damaging Wind in Kansas, May 5 to 6, 1998
- Flash Flood in California, May 5, 1998
- Damaging Wind in Florida, May 5, 1998
- Flooding and Lightning Strike in California, May 5, 1998
- Flash Flooding and Hail in Oklahoma, May 5, 1998
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Florida, May 5, 1998
- Lightning Strike in Florida, May 5, 1998
- Tornadoes and Hail in Colorado, May 5, 1998
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Kansas, May 5, 1998
- Hail and Damaging Wind in Oklahoma, May 5, 1998
- Hail in Florida, May 5, 1998
More
Every storm in California in 1998Every state in 1998This day in weather historyWarnings in California, May 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: 5643638, 5643639, 5643640.