127
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
6
Direct injuries
$20.6M
Property damage
Flood in Merced County, California: 127 recorded events between 1997 and 2025. The strongest on record measured 0. That places the county #37 nationally and #11 statewide for this hazard.
Decade by decade
Flood in Merced County, California: events per decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
The busiest decade for flood in Merced County is the 2020s, when 83 of the county's 127 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 Merced County archive, flood makes up 51.0% of all recorded severe weather across 11 hazard types. Nationally the county sits at #37 for this hazard and #11 within California, putting it in the 98.8 percentile of all U.S. counties.
Seasonality
Events by month
Jan is the peak month for flood in Merced County with 67 recorded events, while Jun 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.
Significant events
Deadliest on record
| Date | Location | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 24, 1998 | HILMAR | 0 | 0 | 6 | $120K |
Most recent
Latest recorded events
| Date | Location | Magnitude | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 17, 2025 | SNELLING | 0 | $0 |
| May 4, 2024 | CREGAN | 0 | $0 |
| Feb 19, 2024 | HOPETON | 0 | $0 |
| Feb 19, 2024 | ATWATER MUNI ARPT | 0 | $0 |
| Feb 19, 2024 | HOPETON | 0 | $0 |
| Feb 19, 2024 | SNELLING | 0 | $0 |
| Feb 19, 2024 | FERGUS | 0 | $0 |
| Feb 19, 2024 | SNELLING | 0 | $0 |
| Feb 19, 2024 | WINTON | 0 | $0 |
| Feb 5, 2024 | INGOMAR | 0 | $0 |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
The Merced County Emergency Manager reported that several mandatory evacuations took place in Merced County as a result of flooding, The impacted areas included Planada which was completely evacuated as well as portions of Merced. Rainfall amounts in the Merced area were between 2 and 3 inches between noon on January 9 and the early morning of January 10 resulting in several cars being stranded and abandoned in flood waters as SR 99 through Merced and 16th St. in Merced were inundated with flood waters. A Flood Warning was already in place for Bear Creek since January 8 and continued through January 11. Bear Creek overflowed and peaked at a new record crest of 26.2 feet during the morning of January 10. Due to the anticipated severity of this event, resources were deployed to the Merced County EOC during the event with frequent live briefings taking place. In addition the the evacuations the took place in and around Merced, Amtrak cancelled several trains and buses through and into Merced due to the train station being flooded.
The cool season's first significant rain pushed through Central California starting about 1100 PDT in Merced County and through Kern County by 2100 PDT. Merced received 0.75" of rain in embedded frontal thundershowers and locally heavy rain in about 2 hours beginning at 1115 PDT. Some local street flooding was reported just south of Hilmar and within Delhi. In Merced a tree was toppled by the storm. Several traffic accidents occurred on rain-slickened roads. Other rainfall amounts with the fast-moving front were 0.85" at Lemoore; only 0.16" at Fresno; and 0.21" at Bakersfield. While no warnings needed to have been formally issued, the storm's approach and timing were well advertised by NWS Special Weather Statements more than 18 hours in advance and Short Term Forecasts with the front's passage.
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.
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many flood events are on record in Merced County, California?
127 flood events are recorded in Merced County between 1997 and 2025, causing 0 direct deaths.
What is the strongest flood recorded in Merced County?
The strongest flood on record in Merced County measured 0.
Where does the flood data for Merced 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 Merced County, California.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/california/merced-county/flood/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.