Flood — Northern Sacramento Valley, California

1998-02-02 to 1998-02-28 · Northern Sacramento Valley, California

Wider weather episode

The following river stages were observed on the upper Sacramento River:Location: Period(s) above flood stage: Max Crest/Date OccurredRed Bluff briefly on the 3rd 1.9 feet above flood stage/3rdTehama Bridge 3rd -- 27th 8.2 feet above flood stage/3rdWoodson Bridge 3rd--4th, 6th--8th, 14th--15th, 19th--20th 6.0 feet above flood stage/3rdHamilton City 3rd, 8th 2.5 feet above flood stage/3rdOrd Ferry 3rd--24th (occasionally went below) 4.2 feet above flood stage/4thHeavy rains on the 2nd and 3rd shut down Interstate 5 and State Route 99 in Shasta and Tehama Counties. A mud slide on the 11th near Turntable Bay partially blocked Interstate 5 where it crosses the main body of Shasta Lake. The slide took weeks to clear. In Tehama County, 70 percent of the city of Tehama was inundated on the 3rd. A levee on Antelope Creek broke, flooding the town of Dairyville. 70 homes were flooded to a depth of more than one foot , with another 130 homes also flooded. Glenn County was one of the worst hit. In the town of Willows, raw sewage backed up in the northeast section of town. 100 homes were flooded. The $20 million in property damages is included in the estimate above, and the crop losses estimated above were all in Glenn County.The towns of Colusa and Williams in Colusa County used extreme measures to save their towns by building a "berm" around their respective towns to protect them from the smaller creek drainages that were backing up as the Sacramento River surged.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 5671471. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.