Flood in California, July 12, 1999

Name: Flood in California, July 12, 1999
Start: 1999-07-12T19:45
End: 1999-07-12T21:00
Location: California

July 12, 1999 · NWS SGX · 1 event in 1 county or zone

1 flood, as filed by the National Weather Service.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 1 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

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The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: $500,000
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 1

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.

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

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Event by event

1 flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Flood, Riverside

When: July 12, 7:45 PM PST to 9:00 PM PST
Where: Riverside County, 4 mi NW of (Psp)palm Spgs Arpt
Property damage: $500,000
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 33.744, -115.994 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Thunderstorms dropped about 3 inches of rain in two hours over Palm Springs. This caused the Whitewater River Storm Channel, the Mesquite Wash, the Palm Canyon Wash, the Tahquitz Creek, and several other washes and flood control channels to rapidly fill. Water, mud, and rocks washed over roads and bridges crossing these washes. Several motorists who crossed these roads before barricades were erected became stuck. One vehicle was rolled five times but the driver was uninjured. One home, ten businesses, and several golf courses were flooded. These were all located near and just downstream of the convergence of these washes. Lightning also knocked out power to the runway and building lights at Palm Springs International Airport.

What these are

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

Every storm in California in 1999 Every state in 1999 This day in weather history Warnings in California, July 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: 5706935.