325
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
0
Direct injuries
$20.7M
Property damage
Flood in Kern County, California: 325 recorded events between 1997 and 2026. The strongest on record measured 0. That places the county #2 nationally and #1 statewide for this hazard.
Decade by decade
Flood in Kern County, California: events per decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
The busiest decade for flood in Kern County is the 2020s, when 160 of the county's 325 recorded events were logged. Comparing decades is useful for spotting active periods, but the earliest years are thin because systematic reporting for this hazard began later.
Within the Kern County archive, flood makes up 39.1% of all recorded severe weather across 11 hazard types. Nationally the county sits at #2 for this hazard and #1 within California, putting it in the 100.0 percentile of all U.S. counties.
Seasonality
Events by month
Jan is the peak month for flood in Kern County with 98 recorded events, while Jul is the quietest. Seasonality here is a property of the archive as much as the climate: reports cluster where population and spotter networks are densest.
Most recent
Latest recorded events
| Date | Location | Magnitude | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 3, 2026 | OIL JCT | — | $0 |
| Jan 3, 2026 | FORD CITY | — | $0 |
| Jan 3, 2026 | CAWELO | — | $0 |
| Jan 3, 2026 | DELANO | — | $0 |
| Dec 25, 2025 | CANTIL | 0 | $0 |
| Dec 24, 2025 | WASCO KERN CO ARPT | 0 | $0 |
| Dec 24, 2025 | LAKEVIEW | 0 | $0 |
| Dec 24, 2025 | FORD CITY | 0 | $0 |
| Nov 15, 2025 | JASTRO | 0 | $0 |
| Nov 15, 2025 | METTLER | 0 | $0 |
Other hazards here
More from Kern County
- Flash Flood 134
- Heavy Rain 111
- Thunderstorm Wind 57
- Debris Flow 51
- Hail 41
- Lightning 41
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
At 1235 PST on the 19th local officials reported widespread flooding on many city streets in Bakersfield and around Kern County. At 1205 PST on the 20th the CHP reported large rock slides on CA Highway 178 have closed the Kern Canyon Road that connects Bakersfield and Lake Isabella. At 1600 PST on the 20th Local officials reported the city drainage infrastructure in Bakersfield was overwhelmed and backing up in some areas. Several city streets were flooded and closed with deep water.
Heavy rain caused widespread urban and poor drainage flooding on the morning of the 29th across much of the San Joaquin Valley. Especially hard hit were the metro areas of Fresno, Visalia, and Bakersfield, and the adjacent foothills.
At 1355 PST law enforcement officials reported flooding on Union Ave at 17th St. At 1438 PST law enforcement reported flooding on Edison Highway just east of Fairfax Rd. At 1557 PST law enforcement reported 1 lane of Redrock-Randsburg Rd blocked by mud.
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many flood events are on record in Kern County, California?
325 flood events are recorded in Kern County between 1997 and 2026, causing 0 direct deaths.
What is the strongest flood recorded in Kern County?
The strongest flood on record in Kern County measured 0.
Where does the flood data for Kern County come from?
All events come from the NOAA/NCEI Storm Events Database, the federal public-domain archive of severe weather reports. Dates are UTC, damage is as reported and not inflation-adjusted, and the most recent entries may still be revised.
Cite this page
“Flood in Kern County, California.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/california/kern-county/flood/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.