Flood — San Bernardino, California

2010-12-19 to 2010-12-25 · near Los Serranos, San Bernardino, California

Event narrative

Numerous streets in the Chino area were flooded with several inches or more of water after nearly a week of intense rainfall. A 67 year old woman from Pasadena drove her car around a barricade near Chino on Christmas night. The water was deep enough that her car floated about 150 feet down the road, then sank in 10 feet of water. A 39 year old man, owner of a nearby business, jumped into the water and broke the car's sunroof to pull the woman out. He attempted CPR, but she later died at a local hospital.

Wider weather episode

A large Pacific plume of moisture ahead of an advancing trough of low pressure brought heavy rain and periods of serious flooding for nearly a week. The plume of moisture responsible was a form of an Atmospheric River. The mountain areas, particularly the San Bernardino range, experienced record large rainfall totals and many areas of flash flooding, debris flows and mud slides. Most rivers in the county warning area reached flood stage. Other effects include numerous traffic collisions, roadway flooding and closures, swift water rescues, beach closures and millions of dollars in damage to homes, businesses and infrastructure. Along with numerous city and governor-declared States of Emergency, President Obama proclaimed a Federal disaster declaration for 10 counties in California, including all four counties comprising the SGX CWA.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (33.9531, -117.7007)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 272854. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.