Name: Flooding in California, December 16 to 17, 2002
Start: 2002-12-16T00:30
End: 2002-12-17T00:30
Location: California

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
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 forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Eureka, CA wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Dec 15, 10:30 PM PST, 2 hours earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Dec 15, 10:30 PM PST, 2 hours before

NORTHWEST CALIFORNIA FORECAST DISCUSSION...UPDATED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EUREKA CA
1030 PM PST SUN DEC 15 2002

UPDATED TO ADD FLOOD WARNING HEADLINE

RAIN RATES LAST 4 TO 6 HOURS HAVE RANGED FROM .15 TO .30 OF AN INCH
PER HOUR. THERE HAS BEEN LOCALLY GREATER AMOUNTS OF 0.50 IN NORTHERN
MENDOCINO AND SOUTHERN HUMBOLDT. A NEW WAVE WAS DEVELOPING JUST
OFFSHORE THE NORTH COAST THIS EVENING. APPROACHING WAVE WILL KEEP
WIDESPREAD MODERATE AND HEAVY RAIN GOING TONIGHT THROUGH MONDAY
MORNING. FRONTAL WAVE MOVES ONSHORE DURING THE AFTERNOON MONDAY AND
WIDESPREAD RAIN SHOULD CHANGE OVER TO SHOWERS. NEW RIVER GUIDANCE
INDICATES MAIN STEM RIVERS AND STREAMS RISING AGAIN TONIGHT THROUGH
MONDAY. WILL MAINTAIN THE STORM WARNING IN THE COASTAL WATERS
THROUGH TONIGHT. BUOYS HAVE BEEN GUSTING TO 50 KT SINCE THIS
AFTERNOON NORTH OF CAPE MENDO.

.EKA...STORM WARNING PT ST GEORGE TO PT ARENA OUT 60NM TONIGHT.
    ...HIGH SURF ADVISORY PZZ450-455 AND CAZ001-002.
    ...HIGH WIND WARNING CAZ001>003 TONIGHT.
    ...WIND ADVISORY CAZ076 TONIGHT.
    ...COASTAL FLOOD WATCH CAZ001-002 MONDAY.
    ...FLOOD WATCH FOR THE EEL RIVER AT FERNBRIDGE MONDAY.
    ...FLOOD WARNING NAVARRO RIVER NEAR NAVARRO AND THE VAN DUZEN
       RIVER NEAR GRIZZLY CREEK MONDAY.
    ...FLOOD ADVISORY FOR THE RUSSIAN RIVER NEAR HOPLAND MONDAY.

Hazardous weather outlook, Dec 15, 11:00 AM PST, 13 hours 30 minutes before

CAZ001>004-076-161300-
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...UPDATE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EUREKA CA
1100 AM PST SUN DEC 15 2002

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTHWEST CALIFORNIA

.DAY ONE...TODAY

A HIGH WIND WARNING IS IN EFFECT FOR THE REDWOOD AND MENDOCINO
COASTS...AND THE NORTH COAST INTERIOR THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT...AND A
WIND ADVISORY IS IN EFFECT FOR THE MENDOCINO INTERIOR TONIGHT...SEE
SFONPWEKA FOR DETAILS.

A HIGH SURF ADVISORY IS IN EFFECT FOR THE REDWOOD COAST AND
MENDOCINO COAST AND ADJACENT COASTAL WATERS...SEE SFOMWSEKA FOR
DETAILS.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY

. ANOTHER STRONG PACIFIC FRONTAL SYSTEM WILL APPROACH THE COAST
TODAY...BRINGING ADDITIONAL HEAVY RAIN...STRONG WINDS...AND RISING
RIVER AND STREAM LEVELS TONIGHT AND MONDAY. AS A RESULT A FLOOD
WATCH HAS BEEN ISSUED FOR THE EEL RIVER...VAN DUZEN RIVER...AND
NARARRO FOR MONDAY. SNOW LEVELS WILL THEN LOWER...AS A COOLER AND
MORE UNSTABLE AIRMASS SETTLES INTO NORTHWEST CALIFORNIA THROUGH
MIDWEEK. ANOTHER POTENTIALLY STRONG STORM SYSTEM WILL DEVELOP OVER
THE REGION THURSDAY AND FRIDAY.

.INSTRUCTIONS TO SPOTTERS...
WEATHER SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SIGNIFICANT WEATHER
CONDITIONS ACCORDING TO STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES.

Event by event

3 flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Flood, Mendocino Interior

When: December 16, 12:30 AM PST to 1:30 PM PST
Where: Mendocino Interior forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.

Russian River at Hopland flooded state highway 175.

Flood, Mendocino Coast

When: December 16, 2:30 AM PST to 3:15 PM PST
Where: Mendocino Coast forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.

Navarro River at Navarro crested at 32.0 feet - flood stage 23 feet.

Flood, Redwood Coast

When: December 16, 9:00 AM PST to December 17, 12:30 AM PST
Where: Redwood Coast forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.

Eel River at Fernbridge crested at 22.2 feet - flood stage 20 feet.

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

More

Every storm in California in 2002 Every state in 2002 This day in weather history Warnings in California, December 2002

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: 5326880, 5326879, 5326881.