Heavy and persistent rains in the Santa Cruz mountains during the first half of April caused many landslides. Damage was estimated at nearly $13 million, with at least $6 million charged to county road damages.
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.
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 episode as NWS MTR wrote it up.
Heavy and persistent rains in the Santa Cruz mountains during the first half of April caused many landslides. Damage was estimated at nearly $13 million, with at least $6 million charged to county road damages. At least 17 homes in Santa Cruz County were damaged, including 9 that were red-tagged.
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 San Francisco Bay Area, CA wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Apr 4, 2:00 PM PST, 1 hour earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN FRANCISCO CA 300 PM PDT TUE APR 4 2006 .DISCUSSION...AROUND 17Z WE HAD A CONFERENCE CALL WITH SPC AND IT WAS DECIDED THAT ALL BAY AREA COUNTIES EXCEPT FOR SOLANO IN SACRAMENTOS CWA WOULD BE LEFT OUT OF THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH BOX THAT IS IN EFFECT FOR THE CENTRAL VALLEY UNTIL 00Z. SO FAR THIS AFTERNOON THE BULK OF THE CONVECTIVE WEATHER HAS BEEN CONFINED TO THE CENTRAL VALLEY WITH WIDESPREAD SHOWERS AND ISOLATED T-STORMS OVER THE BAY AREA. THIS TREND WILL CONTINUE THROUGH THE OVERNIGHT HOURS. EVEN THOUGH WE WILL LOSE SOLAR HEATING (WHICH HAS BEEN MINIMAL TODAY DUE TO CLOUD COVER) THE COLDEST UPPER AIR WILL FINALLY PUSH INLAND. THIS WILL KEEP THINGS UNSTABLE ENOUGH TO LEAVE THE MENTION OF T-STORMS IN THE FORECAST THROUGH THE OVERNIGHT HOURS. IN FACT WOULD ACTUALLY EXPECT TO SEE MORE LIGHTNING STRIKES OVER THE BAY AREA TONIGHT AS COMPARED TO THIS AFTERNOON. EVIDENCE OF INCOMING COLD AIR ALOFT WAS VERIFIED WITH A REPORT OF SNOW MIXING IN WITH THE RAIN ATOP MOUNT HAMILTON ALREADY THIS AFTERNOON. HAVE BROKEN OUT THE ZONES TO ALLOW FOR 3500 TO 4000 FOOT SNOW LEVELS ACROSS OUR HIGHEST PEAKS. LOWERING SNOW LEVELS CAN ONLY HELP ACROSS THE ENTIRE STATE WHERE WIDESPREAD FLOODING CONCERNS RUN FROM NORTH TO SOUTH AS THE MAIN RESERVOIRS PERFORM MAJOR RELEASES IN ANTICIPATION OF MORE RAIN THROUGH THE MIDDLE OF THE MONTH. BACK TO OUR AREA...EXPECT SHOWERS TO ONLY SLOWLY DECREASE DURING THE DAY WEDNESDAY AS A TRAILING SHORTWAVE MOVES DOWN THE COAST UNDER ONSHORE FLOW. THIS USUALLY ACTS TO ENHANCE SHOWER ACTIVITY ALONG THE COASTAL HILLS AND AROUND MONTEREY BAY/BIG SUR. HOWEVER THERE STILL DOES SEEM TO BE MODEL CONSENSUS ON A DRY SPELL FROM WEDNESDAY NIGHT THROUGH THURSDAY NIGHT/EARLY FRIDAY. THE GFS BRINGS THE NEXT COLD FRONT ACROSS NORCAL BY FRIDAY AFTERNOON. HOWEVER THE 12Z ECMWF IMPLIES A SLIGHTLY FASTER SOLUTION. FOR NOW HAVE CHANCE POPS ON FRIDAY. GOOD NEWS IS THAT THE FRONT DOES NOT LOOK OVERLY WET...JUST MORE RAIN. THE WEEKEND FORECAST CONTINUES TO LOOK SUSPECT WITH BELOW NORMAL TEMPS A NEAR GUARANTEE AS THE COOL UPPER TROUGH HANGS OVERHEAD. THE PRESENCE OF THE TROUGH MANDATES THAT AT LEAST THE CHANCE OF SHOWERS STAYS IN THE FORECAST OVER THE WEEKEND...ALTHOUGH AS WAS STATED THIS MORNING NEITHER DAYS LOOKS LIKE A WASHOUT AT THIS TIME. MODELS STILL HAVE A STRONG AGREEMENT FOR ANOTHER POTENTIALLY SIGNIFICANT RAIN MAKER BY MONDAY NIGHT OR TUESDAY OF NEXT WEEK. THE NEW 12Z ECMWF IS IN AND CONTINUES TO SHOW PERSISTENT TROUGHINESS OVER OUR REGION OUT THROUGH THE NEXT 10 DAYS. THE MODEL ENSEMBLE AGREEMENT ON THIS FOR APRIL IS QUITE PHENOMENAL CONSIDERING THIS IS USUALLY THE TRANSITION SEASON TO DRIER WEATHER AND CUT-OFFS. UPSHOT IS CONTINUED WET AND COOL WEATHER AT LEAST THROUGH MID-APRIL. && .PREVIOUS AVIATION...SHOWERS WITH PERIODS OF MODERATE RAIN WILL PERSIST ACROSS BAY AREA TERMINALS TODAY. ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS ARE FIRING OFF THE CENTRAL COAST AND THE POSSIBILITY OF THUNDERSTORMS MOVING INLAND REMAINS PROBABLE. RAIN WILL LAST INTO THE EVENING AS THIS LOW MOVES INLAND OVER THE CENTRAL COAST. WINDS WILL BE PRIMARILY LIGHT OUT OF THE SOUTH TO SOUTHEAST HOWEVER PERIODS OF VARIABLE WINDS ARE POSSIBLE WITH PASSING RAIN BANDS. && .PREVIOUS MARINE...DOPPLER RADAR INDICATES NUMEROUS THUNDERSTORMS OFF THE CENTRAL COAST THIS MORNING. NUMEROUS LIGHTNING STRIKES WERE ALSO OBSERVED TO ACCOMPANY A CELL ABOUT 30 MILES WEST OF POINT ARENA. A MARINE WEATHER STATEMENT WAS THEREFORE ISSUED THIS MORNING FOR THE COASTAL WATERS TO WARN MARINERS OF THE THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY. MARINERS CAN EXPECT GUSTY WINDS...LOCALLY HIGHER WAVES...PERIODS OF HEAVY RAIN...AND LIGHTNING TO ACCOMPANY THESE THUNDERSTORMS. (FOR MORE INFORMATIONS REFER TO FZUS76 - MWSMTR). && .MTR WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...NONE. PUBLIC FORECAST: R WALBRUN MARINE/AVIATION: C WALBRUN NWS ON THE WEB AT WEATHER.GOV/SANFRANCISCO
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN FRANCISCO CA 230 PM PDT TUE APR 4 2006 CAZ006-505>518-051300- BIG SUR COAST- SOUTHERN SALINAS VALLEY/ARROYO SECO AND LAKE SAN ANTONIO- SANTA LUCIA MOUNTAINS AND LOS PADRES NATIONAL FOREST- MOUNTAINS OF SAN BENITO COUNTY AND INTERIOR MONTEREY COUNTY INCLUDING PINNACLES NATIONAL MONUMENT-SAN FRANCISCO- COASTAL NORTH BAY INCLUDING POINT REYES NATIONAL SEASHORE- NORTH BAY INTERIOR VALLEYS-NORTH BAY MOUNTAINS- SAN FRANCISCO BAY SHORELINE-EAST BAY INTERIOR VALLEYS- SAN FRANCISCO PENINSULA COAST-EAST BAY HILLS AND THE DIABLO RANGE- SANTA CRUZ MOUNTAINS-SANTA CLARA VALLEY INCLUDING SAN JOSE- MONTEREY BAY/NORTHERN SALINAS VALLEY/HOLLISTER VALLEY AND CARMEL VALLEY- 230 PM PDT TUE APR 4 2006 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE SAN FRANCISCO AND MONTEREY BAY AREAS. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT SHOWERS AND ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS WILL CONTINUE THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT. LOCALLY HEAVY RAIN AND SMALL HAIL WILL BE POSSIBLE. THE HEAVIEST RAINS WILL OCCUR OVER THE SANTA CRUZ AND SANTA LUCIA MOUNTAINS. SMALL STREAMS AND CREEKS IN THESE AREAS WILL NEED TO BE MONITORED FOR POSSIBLE FLOODING. IN ADDITION THE RAINFALL WILL CONTINUE TO CAUSE MINOR MUDSLIDES ALONG ALREADY SATURATED HILLS. SNOW LEVELS WILL ALSO DROP OVERNIGHT TO BETWEEN 3500 AND 4000 FEET. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY SHOWERS ARE FORECAST TO DIMINISH THROUGH THE DAY ON WEDNESDAY. A BRIEF DRY PERIOD IS FORECAST WEDNESDAY NIGHT THROUGH FRIDAY MORNING. THE NEXT COLD FRONT WILL MOVE INTO THE AREA BY FRIDAY AFTERNOON WITH MORE RAIN...BUT MAINLY LIGHT. UNSEASONABLY COOL WEATHER WITH CONTINUED CHANCES OF SHOWERS WILL CONTINUE OVER THE WEEKEND. ANOTHER MORE ORGANIZED STORM WILL BRING RENEWED MODERATE TO HEAVY RAIN CHANCES TO THE ENTIRE FORECAST AREA LATER MONDAY AND TUESDAY OF NEXT WEEK. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... WEATHER SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SIGNIFICANT WEATHER CONDITIONS ACCORDING TO STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES. WALBRUN
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 debris flow. Local standard time, as filed.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in California in 2006Every state in 2006This day in weather historyWarnings in California, April 2006
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: 5497355.