States › California › 1998
California, 1998
The year's recorded storm events, federal disaster declarations and flood insurance claims.
NCEI notes that Storm Data is compiled from a variety of sources including the National Weather Service, other federal, state and local agencies, the media and the public; that property and crop damage figures are estimates; and that some events are recorded by NWS forecast zone rather than by county. FEMA notes that NFIP claim records are redacted and aggregated to protect the privacy of policyholders.
Events by hazard
Includes events recorded by forecast zone. The state's yearly total for 1998 was 989 against 632 in 1997.
Counties with the most recorded events
Notable events
| Date | County | Event type | Magnitude | Property damage | Deaths | Injuries |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 23 Feb 1998 | Los Angeles | Flash Flood | — | — | 3 | — |
| 14 Nov 1998 | Forecast zone | Dense Fog | — | $1,100,000 | 2 | 56 |
| 2 Feb 1998 | Forecast zone | Cold/Wind Chill | — | — | 2 | 12 |
| 23 Feb 1998 | Orange | Flash Flood | — | $29,700,000 | 2 | 2 |
| 11 Dec 1998 | Forecast zone | Dense Fog | — | $40,000 | 2 | 2 |
| 20 Dec 1998 | Forecast zone | Ice Storm | — | $1,000,000 | 2 | — |
| 18 Jan 1998 | Placer | Heavy Rain | — | — | 2 | — |
| 16 Jan 1998 | Tulare | Flood | — | — | 2 | — |
| 23 Feb 1998 | Santa Barbara | Flash Flood | — | — | 2 | — |
| 3 Feb 1998 | Forecast zone | Flood | — | — | 2 | — |
| 18 Dec 1998 | Forecast zone | Dense Fog | — | $500,000 | 1 | 10 |
| 7 Feb 1998 | Los Angeles | Flash Flood | — | — | 1 | 2 |
| 2 Feb 1998 | Santa Cruz | Flash Flood | — | $500,000 | 1 | — |
| 11 Jan 1998 | San Mateo | Heavy Rain | — | — | 1 | — |
| 11 Jan 1998 | Alameda | Heavy Rain | — | — | 1 | — |
| 25 Jan 1998 | Forecast zone | High Wind | 46 mph | — | 1 | — |
| 12 May 1998 | Forecast zone | Cold/Wind Chill | — | — | 1 | — |
| 27 Aug 1998 | Forecast zone | Heat | — | — | 1 | — |
| 6 Feb 1998 | Los Angeles | Flash Flood | — | — | 1 | — |
| 28 Mar 1998 | Forecast zone | Cold/Wind Chill | — | — | 1 | — |
| 24 Jul 1998 | Forecast zone | Heat | — | — | 1 | — |
| 4 Aug 1998 | Forecast zone | Heat | — | — | 1 | — |
| 24 Feb 1998 | Forecast zone | Dense Fog | — | — | 1 | — |
| 7 Feb 1998 | Santa Barbara | Flash Flood | — | — | 1 | — |
| 7 Feb 1998 | Forecast zone | Heavy Snow | — | — | 1 | — |
| 2 Feb 1998 | Forecast zone | Flood | — | — | 1 | — |
| 2 Feb 1998 | Forecast zone | Flood | — | — | 1 | — |
| 14 Nov 1998 | Forecast zone | Dense Fog | — | $300,000 | — | 22 |
| 9 Dec 1998 | Forecast zone | High Wind | 69 mph | $300,000 | — | 15 |
| 2 Jan 1998 | San Mateo | Heavy Rain | — | — | — | 12 |
| 1 Jun 1998 | Forecast zone | Flood | — | $400,000 | — | — |
| 29 Dec 1998 | Forecast zone | Dense Fog | — | $100,000 | — | 10 |
| 9 Dec 1998 | Forecast zone | High Wind | 82 mph | $500,000 | — | 9 |
| 2 Nov 1998 | Forecast zone | Dense Fog | — | $100,000 | — | 9 |
| 24 Oct 1998 | Forecast zone | Dust Storm | — | $200,000 | — | 8 |
| 18 Oct 1998 | Ventura | Wildfire | — | $400,000 | — | 7 |
| 24 Oct 1998 | Merced | Flood | — | $120,000 | — | 6 |
| 23 Jan 1998 | Forecast zone | Dense Fog | — | $50,000 | — | 6 |
| 28 Mar 1998 | Forecast zone | Hail | — | — | — | 5 |
| 23 Feb 1998 | San Bernardino | Flash Flood | — | $35,900,000 | — | — |
Up to 40 events with deaths, injuries, damage of $50,000 or more, or a tornado rating, ranked by deaths, injuries and damage.
Federal disaster declarations in 1998
| Declared | Number | Type | Incident | Title | Counties |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 Feb 1998 | DR-1203 | Major disaster | Severe Storm | Severe Winter Storms And Flooding | 41 |
Flood insurance claims with a 1998 date of loss
6,768 NFIP claims, 4,502 of them paid, for $60,721,181.
Sources: NOAA NCEI Storm Events through 30 Jun 2026; OpenFEMA DisasterDeclarationsSummaries v2 (1 Oct 2026); OpenFEMA NfipClaims v3 (8 Sep 2026). Built 1 Oct 2026.