Heavy Rain
Rainfall totals unusual for the place and season that did not produce a flood. Every one the National Weather Service has filed, by year and by state, with the deadliest and costliest.
The deadliest and costliest on the map
The deadliest and costliest heavy rain episodes on record.
- 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
- 31,603
- Deaths
- 248
- Injuries
- 668
- Damage
- $1.6 billion
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.
Every year
Deaths each year
The deadliest
Deaths from this kind of event within each episode.
- Hurricane and Heavy Rain in Guam, April 11 to 19, 1997Typhoon Isa (02W) was within the Guam Area of Responsibility from the 9th until the 21st. It was first reported as a tropical disturbance on the 9th. It became a tropical storm on the 12th. On the 12th it was near Pohnpei. Peak wind gust observed across the island were 60 mph.
- Tornadoes and Flash Flooding in Texas, May 23 to 28, 2015For several days, a stalled cold front, combined with abundant moisture from the Gulf of Mexico combined to produce widespread rain and thunderstorms in Texas.
- Tornado and Hail in Alabama, March 26 to 28, 2011A stalled boundary sagged southward into North Central Alabama on Saturday, March 26, and became a focus for convection ahead of an approaching storm system.
- Heavy Rain in West Virginia, December 6, 2014Light to moderate rain fell most of the day. Rain amounts of 1 to 1.5 inches were common.
- Heavy Rain in Texas, October 14, 2013A 43 year old male was killed in Wise County when a semi jackknifed on a wet road and hit the oncoming car the male was driving. A 26 year old male was killed in Falls County when his car lost control on a curve in a heavy downpour and slid into an oncoming tractor-trailor.
- Heavy Rain in West Virginia, February 8, 1996A tragedy unfolded on a family farm along Goose Creek, thatdevastated a close-knit rural community. A 67 year oldgrandfather crossed his concrete low water bridge just aftersunset in a pickup truck.
- Heavy Rain in Illinois, July 7, 2021A slow-moving cold front draped across north-central Illinois triggered scattered thunderstorms during the afternoon and evening of July 7th. While severe weather and flash flooding were not observed, locally heavy rainfall within the storms created hazardous driving conditions.
- Tornadoes and Tropical Storm in Florida, June 24 to 30, 2012Tropical Storm Debby lingered for several days over the northeastern Gulf of Mexico and caused high winds and heavy rain before making landfall near Steinhatchee, FL on the 26th.
- Flash Flooding and Heavy Rain in Tennessee, August 12, 2025A weak upper low helped advect near record moisture into Tennessee, where a boundary and classic heavy rain profiles combined to produce extreme rainfall rates over portions of Chattanooga, leading to numerous water rescues, a few evacuations, flooded interstate and local roads,…
- 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.
- Hail and Heavy Rain in Wisconsin, August 18, 2014Three people were killed in a Trempealeau County car crashed that occurred during the morning of August 18th. The crash happened during a thunderstorm that was producing heavy rain at the time.
- Flood and Heavy Rain in Texas, November 20 to 21, 2009Persistent rainfall over several hours in Collin County resulted in significant flooding in the Nevada, Josephine, and Blue Mound areas. Also, a two car accident in Collin County that killed three adults and injured three more people was the result of hydroplaning.
- Heavy Rain in Puerto Rico, October 26, 1998A surge of water in Rio Fajardo washed away and drowned one adult and two children.
- Tornadoes and Flash Flooding in Texas, March 7 to 11, 2016This was a multi-day severe weather and flood event. It started with a large-scale upper level low pressure system which deepened over the Four-Corners region. Moisture and instability increased in advance of this system.
- 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.
- Damaging Winds and Heavy Rain in Texas, June 17, 1997Pwerlines down in San Leon and Baycliff. Roof blown off shed 6 miles south of the Kemah bridge. Roof on Spillway Pier blown off with debris damaging 2 cars.
- 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.
- Heavy Rain in West Virginia, February 3 to 4, 1998Heavy rain and some wet snow in combination with the leftover heavy snowfall from the end of January resulted in the roof of a recycling center to collapse near Princeton. Two men were crushed to death when the roof fell on them.
- 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.
- Lightning Strike and Heavy Rain in Texas, December 21, 2013Slick roads caused by heavy rain resulted in 2 fatalities in Dallas. Lightning started a fire at a gas well in Somervell County.
- Flooding and Heavy Rain in Georgia, April 2 to 4, 2016Moderate to heavy rainfall spread across southwest Georgia during the April 1-3 period with storm total estimates generally between 3 and 7 inches.
- Damaging Winds and Heavy Rain in South Carolina, July 22, 2025Several clusters of thunderstorms developed in the afternoon hours across southeast South Carolina near a stationary front and associated weak area of low pressure. These storms moved to the southwest along outflow boundaries and produced damaging wind gusts.
- Heavy Rain in California, November 19, 1996Police determined that low visibility in the rain was the main factor as a driver missed a stop sign as he approached a road "T" and drove the car into a concrete abutment. The heavy rain also destroyed 60,000 books in the Shasta county library when the roof sprung a leak.
- Heavy Rain in Connecticut, August 20 to 21, 1997A low pressure system developed over the lower Midwest on Wednesday, August 20th. As it moved slowly east-northeast, it intensified. The low passed over Pennsylvania and moved south of Long Island during Thursday morning.The low produced heavy rain and strong gusty winds.
- 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.
The costliest
Damage from this kind of event within each episode, in the dollars of its year.
- Flash Flooding and Winter Storm in California, January 7 to 11, 2005
- Heavy Rain in California, May 1 to 31, 1998
- Heavy Rain in California, January 7 to 11, 2005
- Heavy Rain in California, May 1 to 15, 1998
- Heavy Rain in California, February 18 to 23, 2005
- Debris Flows and Flooding in Washington, December 2 to 5, 2007
- Heavy Rain in Texas, July 6 to 8, 2021
- Heavy Rain in California, April 2 to 5, 2006
- Debris Flow and Flooding in Washington, November 4 to 9, 2006
- Heavy Rain in California, February 1 to 25, 1998
- Heavy Snow and High Wind in California, January 6 to 11, 2017
- Heavy Rain in California, May 1 to 15, 2003
- Heavy Rain in California, May 8 to 9, 2005
- Heavy Rain in Washington, February 9, 2017
- Heavy Rain in Washington, December 29 to 31, 1996
- Heavy Rain in California, April 1 to 30, 2003
- Heavy Rain in Washington, June 26 to 27, 2001
- Heavy Rain and Strong Wind in California, June 4, 2011
- Heavy Rain in Florida, July 31, 2001
- Heavy Snow and High Wind in California, January 17 to 22, 2017
- Heavy Rain in Washington, March 1 to 15, 1999
- Heavy Rain in California, February 15 to 16, 2017
- Heavy Rain in Hawaii, November 5 to 16, 1996
- Tornado and Heavy Snow in California, May 18 to 19, 2019
- Flash Flood and Damaging Winds in Nevada, July 19 to 20, 1998
By state
| State or waters | Events | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Iowa | 3,554 | 0 | 0 | $1.7 million |
| Virginia | 2,513 | 0 | 0 | $5.7 million |
| Hawaii | 2,157 | 6 | 2 | $15 million |
| California | 2,046 | 39 | 110 | $1.1 billion |
| Florida | 1,794 | 5 | 60 | $22 million |
| Kansas | 1,562 | 2 | 9 | $2.3 million |
| New Jersey | 1,160 | 4 | 12 | $3.8 million |
| Missouri | 1,045 | 2 | 0 | $8.5 million |
| Texas | 844 | 32 | 48 | $62 million |
| North Carolina | 821 | 2 | 7 | $11 million |
| Colorado | 792 | 2 | 6 | $797,000 |
| Puerto Rico | 769 | 13 | 10 | $911,000 |
| Maryland | 744 | 4 | 35 | $28,000 |
| Kentucky | 744 | 3 | 6 | $976,000 |
| Arizona | 702 | 7 | 36 | $4.0 million |
| Georgia | 682 | 5 | 13 | $2.9 million |
| Nebraska | 681 | 0 | 0 | $15 million |
| Minnesota | 668 | 4 | 3 | $383,000 |
| Illinois | 613 | 5 | 1 | $1.3 million |
| Wisconsin | 570 | 7 | 7 | $2.1 million |
| Pennsylvania | 567 | 2 | 4 | $2,000 |
| West Virginia | 505 | 20 | 16 | $1.2 million |
| Arkansas | 486 | 7 | 10 | $4.9 million |
| Montana | 469 | 0 | 0 | $49,000 |
| New York | 438 | 2 | 9 | $1.2 million |
| Delaware | 359 | 0 | 1 | |
| Oregon | 325 | 3 | 2 | $9.6 million |
| Ohio | 291 | 2 | 0 | $1.6 million |
| South Carolina | 282 | 5 | 27 | $3.5 million |
| Massachusetts | 273 | 0 | 0 | $75,000 |
| Nevada | 266 | 7 | 147 | $13 million |
| Indiana | 264 | 0 | 0 | $184,000 |
| Idaho | 262 | 1 | 1 | $64 million |
| Alabama | 247 | 11 | 11 | $671,000 |
| Washington | 239 | 2 | 26 | $251 million |
| Tennessee | 190 | 6 | 6 | $363,000 |
| Michigan | 164 | 1 | 4 | $1.1 million |
| New Mexico | 150 | 6 | 15 | $1.7 million |
| Louisiana | 140 | 1 | 0 | $75,000 |
| Utah | 133 | 0 | 0 | $2.4 million |
| Rhode Island | 127 | 0 | 0 | $30,000 |
| Connecticut | 126 | 4 | 2 | $119,000 |
| American Samoa | 126 | 0 | 0 | $2.0 million |
| Oklahoma | 113 | 0 | 1 | $1.9 million |
| North Dakota | 112 | 1 | 0 | $40,000 |
| Mississippi | 87 | 2 | 3 | $313,000 |
| South Dakota | 85 | 1 | 4 | $182,000 |
| U.S. Virgin Islands | 74 | 0 | 0 | |
| Vermont | 69 | 0 | 0 | $210,000 |
| Wyoming | 52 | 1 | 0 | $19,000 |
| Maine | 37 | 0 | 4 | $35,000 |
| Alaska | 34 | 1 | 0 | $3.9 million |
| New Hampshire | 31 | 0 | 0 | $44,000 |
| District of Columbia | 14 | 0 | 2 | $3,000 |
| Guam | 5 | 20 | 8 | $2.0 million |
Every kind of event
- Thunderstorm Wind
- Hail
- Flash Flood
- High Wind
- Winter Storm
- Drought
- Winter Weather
- Tornado
- Heavy Snow
- Flood
- Marine Thunderstorm Wind
- Heat
- Heavy Rain
- Strong Wind
- Excessive Heat
- Extreme Cold/Wind Chill
- Cold/Wind Chill
- Lightning
- Dense Fog
- Blizzard
- Frost/Freeze
- Ice Storm
- High Surf
- Funnel Cloud
- Wildfire
- Tropical Storm
- Waterspout
- Coastal Flood
- Lake-Effect Snow
- Debris Flow
- Hurricane (Typhoon)
- Dust Storm
- Rip Current
- Storm Surge/Tide
- Marine High Wind
- Sleet
- Avalanche
- Marine Hail
- Astronomical Low Tide
- Marine Tropical Storm
- Tropical Depression
- Freezing Fog
- Lakeshore Flood
- Dust Devil
- Marine Strong Wind
- Dense Smoke
- Marine Hurricane/Typhoon
- Volcanic Ashfall
- Seiche
- Sneakerwave
- Volcanic Ash
- Tsunami
- Marine Tropical Depression
- Marine Dense Fog
- Northern Lights
- Marine Lightning
- Hurricane
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.