Periodic winter flooding along California's Northcoast is not uncommon, but some floods have been catastrophic. In 1964, a disastrous flood devastated the bustling community of Weott, where river water reached 33 feet overhead at this spot and more than fifty buildings in this area were destroyed. The flood developed after a cold storm left heavy snows in the mountains, followed by a warm storm that melted the snow pack and brought a reported 32 inches of rain in three days. During the flood, at Fernbridge about thirty miles downstream, the river's flow exceeded the average flow of the Mississippi and Columbia Rivers combined. Average annual rainfall for this area is about sixty-five inches, though as much as one hundred-twenty inches has been recorded, helping Coast Redwoods flourish when it does not arrive all at once.