Winter storms produce 'atmospheric river,' needed rain for the Modesto area
A combination of two winter storms sent an "atmospheric river" into California on Monday, dumping about a half-inch of rain in the Modesto area by evening, with more expected Tuesday.
National Weather Service forecasters said an additional three-quarters of an inch of rain was possible in the Modesto area through late Monday. Showers were expected on Tuesday morning with up to a quarter of an inch in Modesto.
The Modesto Irrigation District reported 0.53 inches of rain downtown as of 7 p.m. Monday. The season rainfall total was slightly over an inch this season. Modesto receives an average of 12.23 inches a year.
A rash of crashes throughout the region stalled traffic on some of the busier routes as Monday's rain continued to stream into Stanislaus County.
A multi-vehicle, non-injury crash closed one lane on the southbound Highway 99 exit ramp to West Main Street in Turlock late Monday morning. The Turlock Fire Department was called in to extinguish a fire in one of the vehicles.
A big-rig jack-knifed in the southbound lanes of Highway 99 near Golden State Boulevard, the CHP reported. The non-injury crash backed up traffic before the big rig could be removed.
About 1:20 p.m., a vehicle reportedly spun out and went down an embankment into a ditch near the southbound Highway 99 exit ramp to Kansas Avenue in Modesto. No injuries were reported.
Eastbound traffic on Interstate 205 was backed up near Tracy about 1:30 p.m. after a big-rig heading south on Interstate 5 near the Highway 120 junction overturned into the northbound lanes, the CHP reported.
Despite the crashes, this week's rain was welcomed in what has been a relatively dry winter for the Northern San Joaquin Valley. The average January rainfall in Modesto is 2.38 inches. MID records indicated 17.93 inches of rain fell in Modesto last year, and 17.41 inches in 2016.
The showers on Tuesday were expected mainly before 11 a.m., according to the Weather Service. The rainy weather was expected to disappear by Tuesday night.
Forecasters predicted partly cloudy weather in the Modesto area through the end of the week.
This story was originally published January 8, 2018 at 3:29 PM with the headline "Winter storms produce 'atmospheric river,' needed rain for the Modesto area."