An unusually strong frontal system moved across the Northern Sacramento Valley. In addition to dropping record rainfall amounts, the storm brought in a cool airmass that resulted in very low afternoon temperatures.
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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 STO wrote it up.
An unusually strong frontal system moved across the Northern Sacramento Valley. In addition to dropping record rainfall amounts, the storm brought in a cool airmass that resulted in very low afternoon temperatures.
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 Sacramento, CA wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jul 17, 8:50 PM PST, 3 hours 10 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SACRAMENTO CA 950 PM PDT TUE JUL 17 2007 .DISCUSSION... UNSEASONABLY ACTIVE WEATHER SHAPING UP FOR INTERIOR NORCAL WITH APPROACH OF VIGOROUS TROUGH. WATER VAPOR ANIMATION SHOWS AREA OF DARKENING ROTATING AROUND THE BASE OF THE TROUGH WITH A FEW CIRRUS STREAKS PIVOTING INSIDE OF 130W AT THIS TIME. SEASONABLY STRONG DYNAMICS ARE GENERATING GOOD ENHANCEMENT TO THE FRONTAL BAND WITH 11-3.9 MICRON IMAGERY SHOWING THE ALUMINUM FOIL LOOK WE OFTEN SEE DURING THE WINTER. PRECIPITABLE WATER IS ALSO IMPRESSIVE WITH LATEST AMSU PASS INDICATING VALUES AROUND 1.7 WITH THE PLUME THAT IS CURRENTLY INTERSECTING THE NORTH COAST. CAN/T SEE TOO MANY LIMITING FACTORS WITH THIS SYSTEM ASIDE FROM THE FACT THAT IT/S JULY AND THAT THERE IS A FAIRLY STRONG BLOCK IN PLACE DOWNSTREAM. REGARDLESS... BASED ON SATELLITE TRENDS WENT AHEAD AND UPDATED THE FORECAST TO RAISE POPS OVERNIGHT...ESPECIALLY OVER OUR WESTERN ZONES. IN ADDITION...MODELS SUGGEST THE POTENTIAL FOR SOME FAIRLY STEEP MID LEVEL LAPSE RATES DEVELOPING OVER THE NORTH END OF OUR FORECAST AREA ON WEDNESDAY WITH UPPER COOL POOL IN CLOSE PROXIMITY. MODELS ALSO SHOW A DECENT MID LEVEL DRY INTRUSION IN THE AFTERNOON RESULTING IN A FAIRLY BUOYANT PARCEL. MODELS INDICATED ALL SORTS OF INSTABILITY OVER SHASTA COUNTY WITH BUFKIT CAPES OFF THE NAM APPROACHING 700 J/KG AT REDDING...WHICH IS QUITE HIGH FOR ANY TIME OF YEAR OVER INTERIOR NORCAL. THE LATEST GFS40 PEAKS OUT AROUND 900 J/KG ON SBCAPE WHILE MUCAPES CLIMB TO AROUND 2000 J/KG. ADDED THUNDER TO OUR NORTHERN MOUNTAINS FOR THE AFTERNOON/EARLY EVENING AS A RESULT. REMAINDER OF FORECAST UNCHANGED. JUSKIE && .AVIATION... UPPER LEVEL TROUGH OF LOW PRESSURE WILL SLOWLY MOVE INLAND OVER THE NEXT 24 HOURS...WITH MAINLY VFR CONDITIONS PREVAILING. MID AND HIGH LEVEL CLOUDS WILL CONTINUE TO SPREAD INLAND OVERNIGHT...WITH SHOWERS ALONG THE COASTAL RANGE SPREADING INTO THE NORTHERN SACRAMENTO VALLEY AFTER 06Z. MVFR CEILINGS DEVELOPING AS LOWER ATMOSPHERE MOISTENS IN RESPONSE TO SHOWER ACTIVITY. GUSTY SOUTH TO SOUTHWEST WINDS WILL ALSO BE POSSIBLE AS A STRONG UPPER LEVEL JET MOVES OVER THE REGION. && .STO WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...NONE &&
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SACRAMENTO CA 955 PM PDT TUE JUL 17 2007 CAZ013>019-063-064-066>069-181400- SHASTA LAKE AREA/NORTHERN SHASTA COUNTY- BURNEY BASIN/EASTERN SHASTA COUNTY-NORTHERN SACRAMENTO VALLEY- CENTRAL SACRAMENTO VALLEY-SOUTHERN SACRAMENTO VALLEY- CARQUINEZ STRAIT AND DELTA-NORTHERN SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY- MOUNTAINS SOUTHWESTERN SHASTA TO NORTHERN LAKE COUNTIES- CLEAR LAKE/SOUTHERN LAKE COUNTY-MOTHERLODE- EAST FOOTHILLS/NORTH SACRAMENTO VALLEY- WESTERN PLUMAS COUNTY/LASSEN PARK-WEST SLOPE NORTHERN SIERRA NEVADA- 955 PM PDT TUE JUL 17 2007 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR INTERIOR NORTHERN CALIFORNIA. .DAY ONE...TODAY NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN... WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY A LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM WILL BRING ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS TO THE MOUNTAINS OF SHASTA COUNTY ON WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... WEATHER SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SIGNIFICANT WEATHER CONDITIONS TO THEIR LOCAL NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OFFICE. THE LATEST WEATHER INFORMATION IS AVAILABLE ON THE INTERNET AT (LOWER CASE): HTTP://WWW.WRH.NOAA.GOV/STO
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
2 heavy rain, 1 cold/wind chill. Local standard time, as filed.
The maximum temperature today was a very cool 78 degrees at Redding Airport. This is the lowest high temperature ever recorded at Redding Airport on July 18.
A new daily rainfall record of 1.09 inches was set at Redding Airport. This breaks the old record of 0.19 inches set in 1987.
A new daily and monthly rainfall record of 0.86 inches was set at Red Bluff Airport. The old daily record was only a trace of rain, which last occurred in 2004. The old monthly record was 0.70 inches set in 2000.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in California in 2007Every state in 2007This day in weather historyWarnings in California, July 2007
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: 51181, 51126, 51174.