California Flooding and Florida Tornadoes February, 1998
|
NCDC | Contents | Climate | Products | Events | Search | Help
During the month of February 1998, California was struck by a series of storms due in part to the affects of El Nino. The current estimates indicate over $550 million in damages for the state, and 17 storm-related deaths for the winter. 35 counties were declared federal disaster areas. Clear Lake in northern California reached its highest level since 1909, flooding portions of Lakeport, about 90 miles north of San Francisco.
For further information, see the NCDC Storm Data publication for Feb 98.
February 1998 Record Rainfall Amounts (inches):
Location Total Former Record/Year
Ukiah 22.33 19.49 in 1958
Santa Barbara 21.74 *17.33 in 1962
UCLA 20.51 *18.37 in 1918
Chatsworth 20.11 *17.71 in 1962
Oxnard 17.80 15.58 in 1962
Simi Valley 17.20 *11.15 in 1992
Northridge 15.75 *14.23 in 1962
Monterey 15.00 11.68 in 1978
San Francisco 14.89 12.52 in 1878
L.A. Cvc Ctr 13.68 13.37 in 1884
L.A. Airport 13.30 11.07 in 1962
Lompoc 12.86 11.54 in 1918
Redwood City 12.46 10.06 in 1986
Santa Maria 11.59 9.69 in 1962
Long Beach 11.22 9.66 in 1937
San Jose 10.23 7.02 in 1915
Riverside 9.49 * 6.97 in 1969
Stockton 8.01 7.34 in 1936
Bakersfield 5.36 * 4.68 in 1978
* Denotes an all-time-record February monthly total.
..FEBRUARY AND SEASONAL RAINFALL TOTALS AND NORMALS IN INCHES FOR
SELECTED LOCATIONS AS OF 10 AM FEB 28...
FEBRUARY NORMAL SEASON NORMAL
..ORANGE COUNTY...
FULLERTON AIRPORT 11.50
ORANGE COUNTY AIRPORT 12.37
NEWPORT BEACH 12.22 2.05 23.73 7.89
..SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY...
CHINO AIRPORT 13.54
..RIVERSIDE COUNTY...
U. C. RIVERSIDE 9.49 1.82 17.21 7.16
PALM SPRINGS 2.19 0.84 5.75 4.54
THERMAL AIRPORT 1.26 0.45 3.70 2.70
..SAN DIEGO COUNTY...
CARLSBAD PALOMAR AIRPORT 9.28
MIRAMAR MCAS 11.37
MONTGOMERY FIELD 9.73
SAN DIEGO LINDBERGH FIELD 7.65 1.53 13.72 7.08
RANCHO BERNARDO NWS OFFICE 9.36 16.03
SPRING VALLEY 8.59 17.50
BROWN FIELD AIRPORT 8.41 13.85
MT. LAGUNA 10.21 27.61
CAMPO 9.30 2.32 17.44 10.77
NOTE...SEASON TOTALS ARE SINCE JULY 1 1997.
Some of the snow depths include (as reported by the National Weather Service):
SELECTED SIERRA NEVADA SNOW OBSERVATIONS
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RENO NV
1000 AM PST SAT FEB 28 1998
OBSERVATIONS TAKEN BETWEEN 6 AND 9 AM PST
NORTHERN SIERRA NEVADA - LAKE TAHOE/TRUCKEE AREA
NEW SNOW SNOW DEPTH
LOCATION (ELEV-FT) (INCHES) (INCHES)
SUGAR BOWL HWY I-80 7800 0 135-210
SQUAW VALLEY HWY 89 8200 0 228
6200 0 108
ALPINE MEADOWS HWY 89 8000 0 234
7000 0 114
ECHO SUMMIT HWY 50 7382 N/A N/A
DAGGETT PASS HWY 207 7380 0 58
CAPLES LAKE HWY 88 7800 N/A N/A
SIERRA EAST SLOPES - SOUTH ALONG HWY 395 FROM BRIDGEPORT TO MAMMOTH
NEW SNOW SNOW DEPTH
LOCATION (ELEV-FT) (INCHES) (INCHES)
BRIDGEPORT 6470 0 12
CONWAY SUMMIT 8138 N/A N/A
LEE VINING 6562 N/A N/A
DEADMAN SUMMIT 8041 N/A N/A
MAMMOTH LAKES 7500 0 68
Selected satellite images/movies from February:
(Image files larger than 50KB are indicated showing approximate size of the file. Click on each of the following to view full size images.)
Feb 2 GOES-9
Infrared Image (280KB)
|
Feb 2 GOES-9
Visible Image (440KB)
|
Feb 23 GOES-9
Infrared Image (700KB)
|
Feb 3 GOES-9
Infrared Image (280KB)
|
Feb 3 GOES-9
Visible Image (440KB)
|
Feb 23-24 GOES-9
Infrared Movie (5700KB)
|
|
Additional Reports and Data:
During the late evening of February 22 and early morning of February 23, 1998, a series of tornadoes ripped across central Florida. At least one of the tornadoes reached an estimated F4 intensity. Forty-two fatalities occurred, over 800 residences were destroyed, another 700 were left uninhabitable, over 3500 were damaged to some extent, and 135,000 utility customers lost power at the height of the storms. Damages from the tornado outbreak exceeded $60 million, and Florida's overall storm damage total since last fall is approximately $500 million. Hardest hit locations in the tornado outbreak were Winter Garden, Altamonte Springs, Sanford, and Campbell. Overall, 54 of Florida's 67 counties were declared federal disaster areas due to storms over the past few months.
For further information, see the NCDC Storm Data publication for Feb 98.
Selected satellite and radar images/movies:
(Image files larger than 50KB are indicated showing approximate size of the file. Click on each of the following to view full size images.)
Feb 23 GOES-8 Water
Vapor Image (700KB)
|
Feb 22-23 GOES-8
Infrared Movie (3000KB)
|
Nexrad Reflectivity, Feb
23--0356 UTC (70KB)
|
Nexrad Reflectivity, Feb
23--0455 UTC (70KB)
|
Nexrad Reflectivity, Feb
23--0550 UTC (70KB)
|
The west coast has dealt with severe flooding for each of the last four winters (including this year). However, the previous three winters were not significantly influenced by El Nino on the west coast, thus showing that (as climatologists have pointed out in prior years) severe flooding can occur on the west coast during non-El Nino years. These reports describe the previous three winters' flooding:
 Top of Page
http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/oa/reports/febstorm/february98storms.html
Downloaded Tuesday, 16-Sep-2008 04:27:39 EDT
Last Updated Friday, 03-Sep-2004 17:00:58 EDT by Neal.Lott@noaa.gov, Axel.Graumann@noaa.gov, Doug.Ross@noaa.gov
Please see the NCDC Contact Page if you have questions or comments.
|
