120
Recorded events
1
Direct deaths
0
Direct injuries
$1.2M
Property damage
Flood in Monterey County, California: 120 recorded events between 1996 and 2026. The strongest on record measured 0. That places the county #39 nationally and #12 statewide for this hazard.
Decade by decade
Flood in Monterey County, California: events per decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
The busiest decade for flood in Monterey County is the 2020s, when 72 of the county's 120 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 Monterey County archive, flood makes up 49.0% of all recorded severe weather across 11 hazard types. Nationally the county sits at #39 for this hazard and #12 within California, putting it in the 98.7 percentile of all U.S. counties.
Seasonality
Events by month
Jan is the peak month for flood in Monterey County with 34 recorded events, while Apr 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 13, 2025 | CARMEL VLY | 0 | 1 | 0 | $0 |
Most recent
Latest recorded events
| Date | Location | Magnitude | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 10, 2026 | POSTS | — | $0 |
| Jan 6, 2026 | LUCIA | — | $0 |
| Jan 4, 2026 | (MRY)MONTEREY ARPT | — | $0 |
| Jan 4, 2026 | CAMP MC CALLUM | — | $0 |
| Jan 4, 2026 | CAMP MC CALLUM | — | $0 |
| Dec 25, 2025 | SAN ARDO ARPT | 0 | $0 |
| Nov 17, 2025 | POSTS | 0 | $0 |
| Nov 16, 2025 | BOLSA KNOLLS | 0 | $0 |
| Feb 13, 2025 | MOSS LNDG | 0 | $0 |
| Feb 13, 2025 | FT ROMIE | 0 | $0 |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
An elderly man went missing while walking his dog in Garland Ranch Regional Park, and was last heard from around 10:30 AM. Around 11 AM, hikers found his dog and returned it to the man's family, who reported him missing at noon. Monterey County park rangers were assisted by local and state resources in a swift-water search, who ultimately found the man's body in Carmel River.
Moro Cojo Slough backed up and flooded homes and roadway along its banks. Sandbagging operations were needed to protect the homes from significant damage. The slough flooded from heavy rain and then the flap gates were damaged and could not properly drain the slough into Moss Landing Harbor.
A levee on the Pajaro River east of the community of Pajaro was overtopped overnight, and subsequently failed, flooding the community of Pajaro and surrounding farmland. The area was evacuated, with residents only able to return after two weeks.
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many flood events are on record in Monterey County, California?
120 flood events are recorded in Monterey County between 1996 and 2026, causing 1 direct deaths.
What is the strongest flood recorded in Monterey County?
The strongest flood on record in Monterey County measured 0.
Where does the flood data for Monterey 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 Monterey County, California.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/california/monterey-county/flood/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.