Debris Flow — Merced, California

2024-02-04 · near Agatha, Merced, California

Event narrative

California Highway Patrol reported a landslide on the southbound I-5 offramp onto SR 165.

Wider weather episode

A deep fetch of tropical moisture pushed into central California during the late evening of February 3 and spread inland during the morning of February 4 ahead of a strong low pressure center off the Southern California coast. By the time the precipitation had ended by the evening of February 5, much of the Sierra Nevada above 6000 feet had picked up between 1.5 and 3 feet of new snowfall. Moderate to locally heavy rainfall occurred in the San Joaquin Valley, West Side Hills and Sierra as well as across the Kern County Mountains and Deserts where there were several reports of 0.75 to 1.5 inches of rainfall. In addition to the precipitation, strong downslope winds caused considerable damage during on February 4 with several stations reporting gusts exceeding 60 mph.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (36.9304, -120.8429)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1150679. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.