Flood — Santa Clara, California

2012-12-23 · near Palo Alto Arpt, Santa Clara, California

Event narrative

Heavy rain caused San Francisquito Creek to flood and briefly overtop a levee in East Palo Alto. Numerous other seeps and areas where water bubbled through the levee were also noted in the area. Homes on Verbena Drive nearest the levee were evacuated. Officials placed sandbags on top of the levees to temporarily strengthen the flood defenses.

Wider weather episode

A 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. Downed trees, powerlines, and flooded roadways impacted residents over the Christmas holiday season. The event included a tornado touchdown on the coast of Santa Cruz County which brought extensive damage to portions of a greenhouse and flower growing operations. These storms followed a series of significant storms in late November and early December.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (37.4537, -122.1265)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 426213. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.