Cold spring storm brings rain to Modesto, hail to Oakdale, snow to hills
A cold spring storm moved into the parched Northern San Joaquin Valley on Tuesday, dropping nearly a half-inch of rain on Modesto and bringing snow to the foothills.
Rain started falling about 5:30 a.m. As of 5 p.m., the Modesto Irrigation District’s downtown gauge measured 0.43 inches of rain. In Turlock, the gauge at Turlock Irrigation District’s Canal Drive weather station showed it had received 0.33 inches. Snow was reportedly falling as low as Twain Harte.
About 2:30 p.m., a cloudburst moved through Oakdale, dropping hail heavily enough to force several cars to pull off Claribel and Albers roads.
Representatives for MID and TID said there were no weather-related power problems.
The California Highway Patrol reported several spinout accidents on Highway 99; most were noninjury.
Some communities in the Bay Area recorded more than an inch of rain in what forecasters called a welcome respite that will do little to ease the drought.
The storm brought enough snow to the Sierra near Lake Tahoe to produce near white-out conditions on roadways and a string of crashes that caused the CHP to order motorists off a 15-mile stretch of a major highway Tuesday afternoon.
As much as 6 inches of snow is expected above 7,000 feet, with 2 to 4 inches expected to accumulate as low as 3,000 feet before the system clears out Wednesday.
“It’s a pretty minimal snowstorm for a normal winter, but for the winter we have had, it’s been a good one,” CHP Officer Pete Mann said. “Whenever we go a long time without snow, it always seems like there is a learning curve, and as the storm progresses and people learn how to drive in the snow again, it kind of tapers off.”
For farmers, the storm was a mixed blessing.
Fresno County farmer Keith Nilmeier definitely needs the rain. He grows 320 acres of citrus, peaches and wine grapes. The rain will force him to spray his trees with fungicide to keep fruit from rotting, but Nilmeier said it is worth the extra expense because California needs the water.
He expected the storm to drop as much as a half-inch; with a little more, he may have to irrigate one less time this summer.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
This story was originally published April 7, 2015 at 10:54 AM with the headline "Cold spring storm brings rain to Modesto, hail to Oakdale, snow to hills."