Disastrous floods from the severe winter storms in California, Nevada, Washington, Oregon, and Idaho : December 1996 - January 1997.

Spine title: Northwest floods from the severe winter storms, Dec. 1996 - Jan. 1997

A series of powerful Pacific Ocean disturbances of tropical origin, following an unusually wet autumn, brought a deluge of severe winter weather, high winds, and associated flooding to a widespread portion of the western United States over the Christmas/New Year's period. Several bouts of heavy rain combined with snow melt resulted in excessive runoff that produced severe flooding across a five-state area. Record flooding was recorded in the north and central parts of California, western Nevada, and southwestern Idaho. Major flooding was recorded in Washington and Oregon. In addition to flooding, the storms brought high winds and caused numerous mud and rock slides. A total of 84 counties in the five-state area were declared Federal disaster areas: 45 counties in California, 5 in Nevada, 14 in Washington, 7 in Oregon, and 13 in Idaho. Thirteen persons lost their lives due to flooding and flood-related accidents/incidents: 10 in California, 2 in Nevada, and 1 in Oregon. An additional five persons were killed when a small plane crashed in Idaho during evacuations, and one person was killed in Oregon due to an accident related to icy roadways. Storm damages were extensive to homes, businesses, agriculture, and infrastructure, with damage estimates exceeding several billion dollars. The hardest hit areas were California with over $2 billion in estimated damages and western Nevada with over $1 billion in estimated damages