Drought in California, December 1 to 31, 1999

Name: Drought in California, December 1 to 31, 1999
Start: 1999-12-01T00:01
End: 1999-12-31T23:59
Location: California

December 1 to 31, 1999 · NWS HNX · 2 events in 2 counties and zones

13 inches of rain fell tying with December in 1976 and 1903 as the 10th driest December on record. Six Decembers had no rainfall.

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 HNX wrote it up.

In Bakersfield (Southern San Joaquin Valley)...just 0.13 inches of rain fell tying with December in 1976 and 1903 as the 10th driest December on record. Six Decembers had no rainfall. In Fresno (Central SJV)... only 0.03 inches fell and it was the 3rd driest on record. The rainy season total had only 0.52 inches by the end of December which was the 3rd driest season start and eclipsed only by 1917 with 0.49" and 1929 with 0.51". Fresno has had only 6 years in which at least one inch of rain had not fallen by the end of December. Interior Central California mountain snow packs reflected the much below normal rainfall on the adjacent San Joaquin Valley floor.

Event by event

2 drought. Local standard time, as filed.

Drought, Central San Joaquin Valley

When: December 1, 12:01 AM PST to December 31, 11:59 PM PST
Where: Central San Joaquin Valley forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

Drought, Southern San Joaquin Valley

When: December 1, 12:01 AM PST to December 31, 11:59 PM PST
Where: Southern San Joaquin Valley forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

What these are

Drought: A drought reaching severe (D2) or worse on the US Drought Monitor, or with notable impacts.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in California in 1999 Every state in 1999 This day in weather history Warnings in California, December 1999

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: 5721829, 5721830.