California
Historic California floods of 1861-62 featured 8 weeks of atmospheric rivers
What is an atmospheric river? The largest freshwater ‘rivers’ on Earth, atmospheric rivers are long, narrow bands of highly concentrated water vapor flowing in the atmosphere.
SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Imagine Disneyland under feet of water for weeks. Rivers swelling to levels never seen before and never seen since. Days of rain stretch into weeks as floodwaters rise to epic levels.
California may have endured an onslaught of tropically-infused atmospheric river storms that filled the calendar for months at the end of 2022 and the start of 2023 and is staring at another atmospheric river this weekend, but those storms pale in comparison to the historic floods during the winter of 1861-1862.
Floodwaters in Sacramento, California in January 1862.
(California State Library / FOX Weather)
The storms were a recipe for disaster for a young region that had recently been settled. Abraham Lincoln was president at the time, and America was embroiled in the first months of the Civil War. But out West, California’s population was bulging to about a half million in the wake of the great Gold Rush about a dozen years prior.
This 1861 photograph shows flooding at K and Front streets. A nine-year stretch of calm weather was broken with record flooding in the winter of 1861 to 1862. The What Cheer House saloon is prominent to the right of the photograph, as is Ebner’s Hotel. Boats and rafts are visible to the steepled structure in the distance, Saint Rose of Lima Catholic Church at Seventh and K streets.
(Sacramento Public Library / FOX Weather)
7 FACTS ABOUT FLOODPLAINS
Many of the newcomers settled in flat areas near the river for water supply and ease of commerce and transportation, with mining, ranching and agriculture the main fuel for the economy. In the East, where many came from, floods occurred with thunderstorms in spring and summer, not during the fall and winter. They were also not accustomed to living near large mountain ranges that concentrate rainfall into confined riverbeds.
So when the first of a series of likely atmospheric river-type storms hit the West Coast on Dec. 2, 1861, it was a new experience for many.
30-foot-deep water in California’s Central Valley
The storm first struck Oregon’s Willamette Valley and southern Washington Territory, according to research by meteorologist Larry Schick. The temperature reading at Fort Vancouver in Washington Territory was 58 degrees at 7 a.m. – well above average and signaling a warm, tropically-infused atmospheric river-type storm that would have carried plenty of moisture.
A birds-eye view of a flooded street; brick buildings line both sides of the street; in the lower left is a sign “Dentist” on side of the building; in front of the store is another standing sign “WW.Thomas Dentist New York”; in front of second sign a man stands on a plank and looks into the distance; in middle distance a man poles his way across the street on a raft; another group is further down the street; on left side, a sign “Connell, Ryan & Co” and on right side “St. George Drug.”
(California History Room, California State Library, Sacramento, California. / FOX Weather)
Shick found the storm would dump so much rain it would flood the Willamette River with raging waters equal to the flow of the mighty Mississippi River – a river 100 times larger. Now 162 years later, that storm still remains the flood of record for the Willamette. It’s not alone.
Schick found the storm eventually pushed south and redeveloped into another atmospheric river-type storm as it crashed into southern Oregon, then Northern California.
SEE SOME OF THE MOST CATASTROPHIC ATMOSPHERIC RIVERS AND FLOODING IN CALIFORNIA HISTORY
The Sacramento River would jump from about 2-3 feet deep to 20 feet deep and set the first of four all-time records that winter.
Shows buildings including Baker & Hamilton, Gilday; flooded streets with men in rowboats.
(California History Room, California State Library, Sacramento, California / FOX Weather)
HOW FLOODWATER CAN MAKE YOU VERY SICK
“These sustained and multiple, building river level peaks are rare and are testimony to the consistent magnitude of the series of storms,” Schick said.
As the end of December neared, the storm track shifted to the south, now aiming one juicy storm after another at California, while the Pacific Northwest went into an eventual deep freeze.
Storms would keep smashing into California for the next 7-8 weeks. Schick estimated that six of the storms would be categorized as at least “exceptional” atmospheric river storms.
“Measurements on the Sacramento River indicate the first and most substantial rise in December peaking about Dec. 12,” Schick said. “The river did not recede much after that. Subsequent storms pushed it up to several more, even higher peaks into mid-January 1862. The flooding just wouldn’t quit.”
THESE ARE THE RAINIEST HOUR AND MINUTE IN AMERICAN HISTORY
Widespread flooding swamped large stretches of Central California’s valleys. In one stretch of valley that measured about 30 miles wide and 250 miles long, water depths ranged from a few inches to 30 feet in some areas. Telegraph poles were underwater.
“It’s documented that Leland Stanford, newly elected governor of California, was rowed to his inauguration in flooded downtown Sacramento during the floods,” Schick said. “Many wanted to move the capital from Sacramento to San Francisco because of the flooding. Damages to California included losing 25% of its tax base. The state teetered with bankruptcy.”
Southern California’s turn to feel the historic wrath of the atmospheric rivers
Southern California wasn’t spared as the relentless storm track moved south into the region in January 1862. The Santa Ana River in Southern California measured water flow on Jan. 22 at 318,000 cubic feet per second – about half the flow of the Mississippi River despite being a tiny fraction of its size.
Shows buildings including Coffee Wareroom; flooded streets with men in rowboats in Sacramento, Calif. during 1861-62 floods.
(California History Room, California State Library, Sacramento, California.)
Floodwaters stretched across the Los Angeles Basin and parts of Orange County, south into San Diego. Where Disneyland sits today would have been flooded under 2-4 feet of water for 3-6 weeks, according to Schick.
WHY CALIFORNIA IS PRIMED FOR LANDSLIDES
“Poor little Snow White would have been doing the backstroke to get to Tomorrowland,” he said.
Pacific Northwest goes into deep freeze
Finally, some of the cold air that had been freezing the Pacific Northwest sinks down and shuts off the storm track. But not before leaving its icy mark across that region.
The Seattle area would drop below 0 degrees, while the temp dropped to -29 degrees in Walla Walla and just 23 degrees in San Francisco. The Columbia, Willamette and Fraser rivers all froze solid.
The final tallies
It was the incredible amounts of water that fell from the sky that would leave the greatest mark.
Eight major rivers in the West still have the 1862 floods as their high-water marks: The Willamette, Rogue and Klamath rivers in Oregon, and the Stanislaus, American, Tuolomne, Salinas and Santa Ana rivers in California. Schick pointed out that the large floods of 1964 and 1996 on the Willamette may have reached those lofty levels if not for more modern-day flood control efforts.
“Proves dams and reservoirs can help,” Schick said.
It might seem impossible for some of America’s hottest cities to get snow, but it has happened before. Los Angeles, San Francisco, Las Vegas, Tucson, and New Orleans have all seen measurable snow within the last century.
7 FACTS YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT FLASH FLOODS
The Salinas River caused major flooding earlier this year with the train of atmospheric rivers and reached a peak flood of 27 feet. In 1862, the river reached 32 feet.
In addition, the Colorado River’s largest flow measurement is also from 1862 at an incredible 400,000 cubic feet per second due to massive snowmelt later in the spring.
The 50-day rainfall in San Francisco during last winter’s relentless storms peaked at 20.49 inches, according to John Christy, Ph.D., with the University of Alabama. It’s a mere 63% of the 32.43 inches that fell during the 1861-62 storms.
70 feet of snow in the Sierra?
Schick estimated that as impressive as the snowpack was in the Sierras this past winter, it was likely 10-20% more in the winter of 1861-62. California’s Mammoth Mountain had 715 inches of seasonal snowfall in 2022-23, but Schick estimates snowfall reached around 840 inches in 1862. Some 16 feet of snow fell in the Holcomb Valley on the eastern slopes of the San Bernardino Mountains in 1862.
THE SOUND OF SILENCE: WHY IT’S QUIETER AFTER A SNOWSTORM
An onslaught of storms pummeling the West Coast brought feet of snow to California’s Sierra Nevada, including up to 15 feet of snow in areas of Yosemite National Park.
Schick said to put that winter in perspective, take the flooding storms of this past year, then add in the major flooding storms in Northern California in 1964, 1986 and 1997 plus the major Southern California rainstorms of 1938 and 1969, and then you’ll see rivers approach or exceed those all-time records.
About 4,000 people died in the floods, and the damage cost in today’s dollars is around an estimated $3 billion, according to NOAA.
“We must prepare, but nothing will stop a repeat of 1861-62 … or something even worse,” Schick said. “Most disturbing is that climate models suggest stronger atmospheric rivers in the future.”
WHAT DOES THE TERM ‘100-YEAR FLOOD’ ACTUALLY MEAN?
Climatologists estimate a storm of the magnitude of 1861-62 would occur about every 200 years. Schick said his recent research using paleo sediment profiles indicated another series of atmospheric rivers that hit the area in the early 1600s may have even been much worse than 1862.
“So, understanding, modeling, and preparing for repeat is really important,” Schick said.
ANKARA
A 31-year-old suspect identified as Cole Thomas Allen is in custody following a shooting incident at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner in Washington, DC, with authorities continuing to investigate his background and possible motives, media reports said late Saturday.
Citing official statements and eyewitness accounts, the reports identified Allen as being from California, later confirmed by US President Donald Trump, who called the suspect “a very sick person,” and said he was thought to have acted alone.
Trump, along with the first lady and several top Cabinet members, was escorted out of the Washington Hilton ballroom, where the event was taking place, by Secret Service. Shortly afterward, he said the suspect had been “apprehended” and shared photos of him on the ground shirtless, along with blurry security footage of what appeared to be a figure darting past security agents.
Officials said the suspect was armed with multiple weapons, including a shotgun, a handgun and several knives. Metropolitan Police interim chief Jeff Carroll said he was also a guest at the hotel hosting the dinner.
Also speaking after the incident, Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser said the suspect reportedly “rushed a Secret Service checkpoint” in a lobby before being stopped by agents.
An officer was shot during the incident but survived thanks to a bulletproof vest he was wearing.
“He was shot from very close distance with a very powerful gun, and the vest did the job,” Trump said, adding the officer was “in great shape.”
Witness accounts provided additional details about the suspect’s actions before the shooting.
A volunteer at the event, Helen Mabus, told the New York Post that the suspect appeared to assemble a “long” weapon in a lightly monitored area near a terrace-level entrance.
“He grabbed it out of a bag or something … it was long and didn’t look like a typical gun,” the daily quoted her as saying.
Mabus said the suspect was partially out of view of security while handling the weapon in a “makeshift room” used for storing bar carts.
“He put it together and … ran towards the stairs to go down to the ballroom,” she recounted.
Mabus said the suspect then began firing in multiple directions, estimating she heard at least 10 shots. “It just seemed like he was shooting all over the place,” she said, describing panic among guests.
Authorities said the suspect was later apprehended and transported to a hospital for evaluation.
Jeanine Pirro, US attorney for the District of Columbia, said the suspect would face two charges and is expected to be arraigned in federal court on Monday. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said additional charges may follow, noting that the investigation was ongoing.
FBI Director Kash Patel, who was also at the dinner, said the bureau had begun examining the suspect’s background and would “analyze all evidence immediately.”
While officials have said no clear motive was immediately clear, CBS News reported that
Allen admitted to security forces after his arrest that he intended to shoot Trump administration officials.
Citing two sources, the broadcaster said Allen did not specify that he was targeting Trump, only saying he was after “administration officials.”
The suspect is reported to have earned a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science from California State University, and a Cole Allen appears among computer science graduates in the May 2025 commencement program of California State University, Dominguez Hills.
According to law enforcement sources cited by CBS News, Allen worked as a teacher with C2 Education in Torrance, a private tutoring service, and was named “Teacher of the Month” in December 2024, according to a Facebook post. It is unclear whether he was still employed there at the time of the incident.
White House Correspondents’ Dinner shooting
The incident occurred during the annual White House Correspondents’ Dinner at the Washington Hilton Hotel, where President Trump, first lady Melania Trump and other high-level figures were present.
Witnesses reported hearing loud “pop, pop, pop” sounds, prompting guests to take cover under tables as security forces responded.
The Trump couple, Vice President JD Vance and Cabinet members were evacuated from the head table, while other guests remained inside the ballroom.
Secret Service agents and law enforcement quickly intervened, securing the scene and taking the suspect into custody as the event was halted.
Margaux Mirkin, the 70-year-old heiress whose father founded Budget Rent a Car, was the apparent victim of a home invasion on Thursday in which she was assaulted and strangled, according to police.
Officers arrived at her Hollywood Hills home in Los Angeles and learned that the attackers had left the woman inside the residence after allegedly smashing her jaw and choking her.
Property records obtained by NBC4 confirmed Mirkin owns the residence.
Although the full extent of the theft remains unclear, police said the suspects stole cash and jewelry from the home. Neighbors said some of the jewelry belonged to the woman’s late husband, who died in a house fire two years ago.
After the incident, Kristen Stavola, executive director of We Are Laurel Canyon, spoke to NBC4.
“She’s pretty shaken up, as anyone would be after being assaulted in your home and watching your valuables get stolen and driven away,” Stavola said.
An individual who did not want to be identified said the street is “dark” and a “dead-end street.”
“Not many people are on it, so of course it’s like the perfect street for a break-in,” the neighbor said.
NBC4 reported that the robbers dropped a bag containing a large amount of jewelry while leaving the home. When a neighbor saw them and shined a flashlight in their direction, they took off.
The police department’s robbery-homicide division is now managing the investigation.
Nevada — known for its vast deserts and audacious gamblers — is luring Californians away from the Golden State at a higher rate than any other.
The Silver State leeched a net 81 Californians per 10,000 residents each year from California between 2016 and 2025, as California undergoes a mass exodus of residents leaving, according to a report.
The report, titled “Priced Out: RELOCATION AMIDST CALIFORNIA’S AFFORDABILITY CRISIS,” was released on March 31 by the nonpartisan California Policy Lab.
Californians move to Nevada at a higher rate than even Texas, the report notes.
“Nevada is the standout,” the report says. “News reports often mention Texas, but that is misleading. The most accurate measure of popularity adjusts for state population and shows a clear pattern: proximity reigns. Californians most often leave for nearby states, and California also welcomes new residents from neighboring states most frequently.”
Nevada is a much cheaper state for U.S. residents to live in than California. It has no state income tax, unlike California, and housing prices, along with gas prices, are also lower. California’s average regular gas price was $5.88 on Friday while Nevada’s was $4.99, an 89-cent difference.
Evan White, a co-author of the study, says the Californians are leaving for more affordable states.
“The price tag has gone up on the California Dream, and many families are leaving the state for more affordable places,” White, the Executive Director of the California Policy Lab at UC Berkeley, said. “The difference these moves make is stark. Their destination neighborhoods are half as expensive and they end up much more likely to own a home within just a few years.”
The report shows that out-of-state movers pay an average of $672 less per month on housing costs, and home prices are 48% lower. Former California residents are about 48% more likely to own a home in their new state.
Higher-income Californians are also leaving at increasingly higher rates, the report said. The share of higher-income Californians leaving has increased from 34% to 40% since the pandemic.
“Our report shows that people who leave California are increasingly leaving from higher-income neighborhoods,” co-author Dr. Brett Fischer, Researcher at the California Policy Lab, said. “These movers are, on average, in a weaker financial position than their neighbors, and may be moving to attain the quality of life they see their neighbors enjoying but they cannot afford.”
From 2010 to 2024, nearly 10 million people left California. The state is considered one of the most expensive states in the nation.
Idaho, Oregon, and Arizona are the next largest net recipients of Californians on a per-capita basis, the report says.
-
Detroit, MI29 minutes agoDetroit Red Wings 2025-26 grades feature some A’s, some D’s
-
San Francisco, CA41 minutes agoThe 2026 NFL Draft is complete. See the 49ers projected depth chart
-
Dallas, TX47 minutes agoDAL@MIN Postgame: Jason Robertson | Dallas Stars
-
Boston, MA59 minutes agoPols & Politics: Boston’s $325M White Stadium deal could be killed with booze ban
-
Denver, CO1 hour agoPHOTOS: Denver Nuggets vs. Minnesota Timberwolves in Game 4 of first-round NBA playoff series
-
Seattle, WA1 hour agoFC Dallas Suffers 2-1 Defeat to Seattle Sounders FC | FC Dallas
-
San Diego, CA1 hour agoHector Estevane – San Diego Union-Tribune
-
Milwaukee, WI1 hour agoMilwaukee food trucks will have to close earlier starting next month; here’s why