1 heavy rain, 1 flood, as filed by the National Weather Service.
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.
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 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 26, 8:45 PM PST, 9 hours 15 minutes earlier.
NORTHWEST CALIFORNIA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EUREKA CA
845 PM PST THU DEC 26 2002
EVENING WATER VAPOR AND IR IMAGERY CONFIRM SIGNIFICANT WEATHER
SYSTEM TO AFFECT NORCAL FROM LATE TONIGHT INTO UPCOMING WEEKEND IS
TAKING SHAPE. INCREASING ZONE OF CONVECTION ALONG THE DEVELOPING
FRONTAL BOUNDARY (FROM AROUND 40N/130W TO 33N/140W) AMIDST THE
TROPICAL MOISTURE PLUME BODES WELL FOR A SLOW MOVING/VERY WET PERIOD
GETTING UNDERWAY OVERNIGHT AND PERSISTING INTO AT LEAST EARLY
SATURDAY. SURFACE AND ELEVATED WARM-FRONT HAS LIFTED WELL NORTH OF
AREA...PUTTING REGION IN BROAD ZONE OF WARM ADVECTION/ISENTROPIC
UPGLIDE. SOUTHERLY GRADIENT HAS ALSO INCREASED...WITH LOW PRES
WINDING UP ALONG 130W NEAR 43N. RAWS DATA BETWEEN 2KFT AND 3KFT
ALONG THE NORTH COAST INDICATING GUSTS TO AROUND 50MPH WITH KCEC
ALONG THE COAST GUSTING NEAR 35 MPH. REGIONAL RADAR MOSAIC AND
OBSERVATIONS INDICATE RAIN RATES THIS EVENING ALONG/BEHIND WARM
FRONT HAVE BEEN STEADY BUT NOT ALL THAT HEAVY. UPDATED ZONE 4
EARLIER TO ACCOUNT FOR INITIAL LOW SNOW LEVELS...BUT CONTINUED
WARMING OVERNIGHT SHOULD ALLEVIATE ANY NEED FOR WINTER WEATHER
HEADLINES AT THIS TIME.
INITIAL CONCERN THRU EARLY FRI WILL BE WIND HEADLINE...NOW COVERED
BY A WIND ADVISORY FOR ZONES 1/3. 00Z ETA CONFIRMS AVN/CANADIAN
TRENDS THAT STARTED LAST NIGHT THAT THE INITIAL SURFACE LOW TO OUR
NORTH WILL NOT BOMB OUT TO 975MB AS PROJECTED 2 DAYS AGO. STILL
EXPECT GALES IN THE COASTAL WATERS (GUSTS ALREADY THERE) AND WIND
ADVISORY TO BE MET THRU EARLY FRI BUT SPEEDS AND DURATION WILL NOT
APPROACH SYSTEMS OF LAST WEEK. RAINS OVERNIGHT WILL BEGIN TO
CONCENTRATE IN NORTHERN REACHES OF CWA WHERE NOSE OF 50KT LOW LEVEL
JET AND THETA-E RIDGE RESIDE. STRONGEST SURFACE-850MB CONVERGENCE
AXIS ALSO HOLDS THERE MUCH OF NIGHT...WITH MORE SCATTERED PRECIP
EXPECTED ACROSS SOUTHERN CWA THRU 12Z. THE ORGANIZING FRONTAL BAND
PRECIP SHOULD BEGIN TO SAG SOUTHWARD...AND APPROACH FAR NW CA BY 12Z
WITH A RAPID INCREASE IN INTENSITY AROUND THAT TIME.
THIS FRONT WEAKENS AFTER 12Z FRI...AS ANOTHER SURFACE WAVE SPINS UP
ALONG 40N. 850-700MB WINDS BEGIN TO LINE UP IN EXCELLENT FASHION FOR
A PROLONGED PERIOD OF OROGRAPHIC ENHANCEMENT FOR OUR COASTAL RANGE
PROVIDING ADDED LIFT TO ALREADY IMPRESSIVE UVM VALUES. THE
DEVELOPMENT OF THE SECONDARY WAVE AND SLOWER EVOLUTION TO THE UPPER
TROF PASSAGE (NOT TIL AFTER 00Z SUN) WILL MEAN A PROLONGED PERIOD OF
HIGH PRECIPITABLE WATER VALUES THAT WILL CONTINUE TO BE LIFTED UNDER
STRONG DYNAMICS (A STRONG UPPER JET AND DIFFLUENCE ALOFT). THE NEXT
FRONTAL BAND WILL ALSO BE DELAYED...FINALLY PULLING THRU NORCAL
AFTER 18Z SAT. SNOW LEVELS THEREFORE SHOULD REMAIN FAIRLY
HIGH...EVEN THRU MOST OF SAT AS THE COLD AIR BEHIND THE FIRST FRONT
WILL NOT SAG VERY FAR SOUTHWARD AS SOUTHERLY FLOW REDEVELOPS
QUICKLY.
WILL LEAVE ALL HEADLINES IN PLACE AND ADD A FLOOD WATCH FOR EEL
RIVER DUE TO POSSIBILITY OF MINOR FLOODING BY FRIDAY NIGHT. FLOOD
WARNING FOR NAVARRO RIVER HAS ALREADY BEEN ISSUED. WILL ALSO HAVE TO
WATCH SMALL STREAMS/CREEKS FOR RAPID RISES BY LATE FRI DUE TO SLOW
MOVING NATURE OF SYSTEM.
POPS CEC 9998 ACV +998 EKA +998 UKI 9998
SOROKA
.EKA...GALE WARNING PT ST GEORGE TO PT ARENA OUT TO 60NM.
...WIND ADVISORY HUMBOLDT AND DEL NORTE COUNTY TONIGHT
AND FRIDAY MORNING.
...FLOOD WARNING FOR NAVARRO RIVER LATE FRIDAY
...FLOOD WATCH EEL RIVER FRIDAY NIGHTCAZ001>004-076-281400- HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EUREKA CA 530 AM PST FRI DEC 27 2002 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTHWEST CALIFORNIA .DAY ONE...TODAY A STRONG PACIFIC STORM WILL REMAIN NEARLY STATIONARY TODAY PRODUCING GUSTY WINDS EARLY THIS MORNING AND PERIODS OF HEAVY RAIN. A FLOOD WARNING IS IN EFFECT FOR THE NAVARRO RIVER AND A FLOOD WATCH IS IN EFFECT FOR THE EEL RIVER AT FERNBRIDGE. SEE SFOFLSEKA FOR THE LATEST DETAILS. A WIND ADVISORY IS IN EFFECT FOR GUSTY SOUTHERLY WINDS ACROSS DEL NORTE AND HUMBOLDT COUNTIES EARLY THIS MORNING. SEE SFONPWEKA FOR LATEST DETAILS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY THE PACIFIC STORM SYSTEM WILL CONTINUE TO IMPACT THE REGION SATURDAY BEFORE THE FINAL FRONTAL PASSAGE LATE IN THE DAY. PERIODS OF HEAVY RAIN WILL CONTRIBUTE TO FURTHER RISES ON THE MAINSTEM RIVERS AND LOCAL FLOODING ON SMALLER CREEKS. THE SNOW LEVEL WILL FALL TO NEAR 2500 FEET SATURDAY NIGHT BEHIND THE FRONT. THERE WILL BE A BRIEF BREAK IN THE WEATHER SUNDAY BUT ANOTHER SERIES OF FRONTAL PASSAGES MONDAY AND TUESDAY WILL BRING ADDITIONAL RAIN. A CHANCE OF RAIN WILL REMAIN THROUGH THURSDAY WITH A MOIST WESTERLY FLOW. .INSTRUCTIONS TO SPOTTERS... WEATHER SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SIGNIFICANT WEATHER CONDITIONS ACCORDING TO STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES.
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 heavy rain, 1 flood. Local standard time, as filed.
Eureka set an all time daily rainfall record of 6.79 inches. Nearby Honeydew reported 11.24 inches.
Widespread urban and small stream flooding in Eureka and around Humboldt Bay.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in California in 2002Every state in 2002This day in weather historyWarnings in California, December 2002
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: 5327222, 5327223.