Modesto area avoids major storm problems

The Modesto area got through the heaviest rainfall without too many problems Sunday as a series of winter storms continue to pound the Northern San Joaquin Valley. But there’s still concern about flooding as rain is expected to continue to fall into Tuesday night.

National Weather Service meteorologist Travis Wilson said the Modesto area received nearly an inch of rain as of Sunday afternoon. More rain was predicted for the area Sunday night and will begin to taper off by Monday morning.

“It’s still not over,” Wilson said about storm hazards. “Even when the rain stops, the rivers continue to rise.”

Flooding along rivers and streams will continue to be a concern for authorities as the latest storms move out and another moves in Tuesday. Another inch of rain is expected to fall Tuesday in the Modesto area, Wilson said.

Forecasters predict the Tuolumne River will be above the monitoring stage of 50 feet in Modesto by early Monday. The flood stage in the area is 55 feet. The river was about 52 feet on Saturday night.

On Sunday afternoon, the San Joaquin River remained more than 15 feet below the flood stage, but its rate of speed continued to increase throughout the day.

Authorities continued to urge drivers to turn around if they see water flowing over a road. Orestimba Creek near Newman in west Stanislaus County rose more than 3 feet over several hours Sunday, but the water level began to drop slightly by the afternoon, according to the state Department of Water Resources.

In the past, people have died trying to drive across flooded roads along Orestimba Creek.

Dry Creek in Modesto also is notorious for flooding, but the creek had not experienced any flooding by Sunday afternoon. Forecasters, however, were predicting Dry Creek would rise and increase in speed by Monday as more rain falls.

The weather service had issued a wind advisory for most of Sunday with gusts of 40 to 50 mph. But Wilson said Modesto’s wind gusts only reached high speeds of 30 mph. He said the wind will continue to weaken Sunday night, resulting in fairly light wind on Monday.

The Modesto area also experienced unusually warm weather Sunday with a high of 67 degrees, which was nearly 10 degrees warmer than Saturday. Wilson said Sunday’s storm blew in from the south, not from the Gulf of Alaska, as is more common for winter storms.

But the warm weather will not continue. Wilson said temperatures will drop overnight. Snow levels also are expected to drop in the Sierra Nevada from 9,500 feet to about 4,500 feet as the weather cools. The high temperature in the Modesto area is expected to drop to 55 degrees by Tuesday.

There were no major power outages in the Modesto area Sunday. The Modesto Irrigation District had some minor outages scattered throughout the area, which is typical in stormy weather. MID spokeswoman Melissa Williams said crews spent the day removing fallen tree branches.

About 20 MID customers experienced an outage about 2 a.m. Sunday after a vehicle crashed into a utility pole. Crews were able to restore power within an hour.

There was another vehicle crash in Waterford on Sunday that damaged a utility pole near a Taco Bell fast food restaurant on Yosemite Boulevard. The vehicle also crashed into the restaurant. Williams said two MID customers lost power, which was restored shortly after the crash.

Turlock Irrigation District spokesman Calvin Curtin said crews on Sunday responded to a downed power line in Hughson, which could have been caused by strong wind. But TID customers didn’t experience any large-scale power outages Sunday.

This story was originally published January 8, 2017 at 6:24 PM with the headline "Modesto area avoids major storm problems."