Heavy Rain in California
Every heavy rain event the National Weather Service has filed in California, year by year, with the most significant episodes. Rainfall totals unusual for the place and season that did not produce a flood.
The most significant on the map
The most significant heavy rain episodes in California.
- Tornadoes
- Tropical storms and surge
- Floods
- Wind
- Hail
- Winter weather
- Heat and drought
- Cold
- Fire, smoke and dust
- Marine and coastal
- Other
The record
- Events
- 2,046
- Deaths
- 39
- Injuries
- 110
- Damage
- $1.1 billion
Every year
The most significant
Ranked by deaths, injuries, damage and size together.
- Flash Flooding and Winter Storm in California, January 7 to 11, 2005A powerful Pacific storm brought heavy rain, snow, flash flooding, high winds and landslides to Central and Southern California. During the 5 day event, rainfall totals ranged from 3 to 10 inches over coastal areas with up to 32 inches in the mountains.
- Debris Flows and Strong Wind in California, March 13 to 16, 2012A series of storm systems from the Gulf of Alaska brought gusty winds and periods of heavy rain across the San Francisco and Monterey Bay areas from March 13 through March 16, 2012.
- High Wind and Heavy Rain in California, February 10, 2000The wettest rain storm in 16 months caused mudslides and flooding in Orange and San Bernardino Counties. Highways and city streets were flooded for 30 minutes to three hours and contributed directly to several fatal accidents.
- Flash Flooding and Flood in California, October 12 to 17, 2009A deep low pressure trough tapped into quite a bit of moisture from the remnants of Super-Typhoon Melor, bringing as much as around 2 inches of rain to the central and southern San Joaquin Valley on the 13th-14th. Much higher amounts fell in the Southern Sierra Nevada.
- Flash Flooding and Debris Flows in California, January 16 to 17, 2019A moderate to strong atmospheric river impacted much of California in the middle of the month. A weak surface low developed off the coast on January 15th bringing moderate to heavy rainfall to portions of the region.
- Flash Flooding and Debris Flows in California, November 8 to 9, 2022Pacific trough draws two atmospheric rivers, November 8-9, 2022.
- Flash Flooding and Flooding in California, January 22, 2024Historic flooding occurred on January 22nd. Heavy rainfall occurred between 8 am and noon across western San Diego county. The heaviest rainfall occurred between 9 am and 11 am in the east side of the city of San Diego in Encanto and Lemon Grove to Spring Valley.
- Flash Flooding and Flood in California, September 1 to 2, 2023An upper level storm system coming from the Eastern Pacific interacted with monsoonal moisture on September 1, 2023. The interaction of these features led to the development of heavy rain and thunderstorms, which caused several instances of flooding in the Coachella Valley.
- Flash Flood and Heavy Snow in California, February 24 to 27, 2003Twelve to eighteen inches of snow fell in the San Bernardino Mountains above 7000 feet. In the San Jacinto Mountains of Riverside County, 11 to 20 inches fell between 5600 feet and the ridgetop. In the Laguna Mountains of San Diego County, 8 to 13 inches of snow fell.
- Tornado and Flash Flooding in California, March 20 to 23, 2018A warm plume of moist tropical air brought a very active period of weather to the area between the evening of March 20 and the evening of March 22.
- Flash Flooding and Debris Flow in California, November 28 to 30, 2012A series of significant winter storms impacted the district during late November and early December 2012. The first storm arrived November 28 and then was followed by three more winter storms.
- Flooding and Heavy Snow in California, January 3 to 6, 2023A powerful atmospheric river brought very strong winds with moderate to heavy rain and renewed flooding of the already elevated waterways. There was flooding of roadways, urban areas, rivers, streams, and creeks.
- Tornadoes and Debris Flows in California, January 6 to 12, 2017Two strong storms brought a range of significant weather impacts to northern interior California. The first storm was very wet and warm, the second not quite as wet but cooler with lower snow levels. Both storms brought strong, damaging winds.
- Heavy Rain and Frost and Freeze in California, December 15 to 17, 2008A cold core low pressure system produced winter storm conditions causing low elevation snow, minor flooding and isolated strong wind through the period December 15 through 17, 2009.
- Winter Storm and Flooding in California, February 11 to 14, 2001A winter storm that took two days to cross Southwest California created near blizzard conditions in the mountains, forcing the closure of all roads. In San Bernardino County, the Wrightwood received between 27 and 60 inches of snow.
- Blizzard and High Wind in California, January 4 to 5, 2008A powerful Pacific storm brought widespread winds gusting to 60 mph and in some areas to more than 80 mph across interior Northern California, causing extensive damage and numerous power outages.
- Flood and Heavy Rain in California, April 11 to 12, 2010A pacific storm system brought strong wind and brief heavy rain to California. It even produce a few thunderstorms over the coastal waters just west of the central coast which moved onshore and produced small hail.
- Flash Flooding and Debris Flow in California, October 13, 2009A strong low pressure system made its way through Northern and Central California accompanied by deep tropical moisture and very strong winds. Heavy rain combined with the wind to cause numerous trees, tree limbs and pole/telephone powers to fall.
- Flooding and Heavy Snow in California, February 4 to 9, 2024An atmospheric river took aim at Southern California for several days starting early on February 4th, with impacts lasting through February 9th.
- Heavy Rain in California, January 18, 19980.75 inches of rain in 6 hours in downtown Sacramento was one of the lighter rainfall totals as a Pacific storm brought brief but heavy rain to the Sacramento and Northern San Joaquin Valleys and surrounding foothills.
- Heavy Rain in California, May 26, 2026Showers and thunderstorms brought wet road conditions on May 26th to Highway 50 in El Dorado County. Just east of Ice House Road, a vehicle veered off the roadway and into the American River. Rainfall amounts of 0.15-0.25 were observed at the time of the incident.
- Flash Flood and Debris Flow in California, January 28 to 30, 2021A potent trough of low pressure associated with a weak atmospheric river brought heavy mountain and snow and areas of flooding rains across Southern California from January 28th to 29th.
- Debris Flow and Flooding in California, December 31, 2022An atmospheric river impacted the Bay Area on December 31st, resulting in significant rainfall across the San Francisco Bay Area. Initial forecasts called for the most intense rainband to progressively move south towards the Central Coast as the day went on.
- Tornado and Flash Flooding in California, December 21 to 23, 2012A series of storm systems, part of a large Atmospheric River type of pattern, impacted the area during late December 2012. From the 21st through 26th of December, heavy rain, gusty winds, flooding, and mudslides occurred across the Bay Area in these consecutive events.
- Flash Flooding and Debris Flow in California, January 15 to 17, 2019A high impact mini atmospheric river impacted Southern California January 14th and 15th which brought heavy rain and snow to the region. Seal Beach reported 2 inches of rain in 2 hours, which caused extensive flash flooding.
More
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.