National Weather Service issues Flood advisory for Stanislaus County, region

The National Weather Service on Tuesday issued a flood advisory for Stanislaus, San Joaquin and Sacramento counties as wet winter storms push through Northern California.

The flood advisory will remain in effect until 6:15 p.m. Tuesday, and it includes Tuolumne and Calaveras counties.

The Weather Service announced Tuesday morning that heavy rainfall had resulted in small river and stream flooding in southern Sacramento and Northern San Joaquin valleys. The rainfall also has produced water ponds on local roads and low areas.

Forecasters expected to see flooding in areas near Modesto, Stockton and Sacramento. Authorities urged drivers to avoid flooded areas. Drivers also were warned not to try to drive around barricades.

The Modesto Irrigation District reported that more than half of an inch of rain had fallen in downtown Modesto on Tuesday. Monday's rain, 0.96 of an inch, broke a record for Modesto set on the same day in 2001 with 0.89 of an inch of rain, according to MID records.

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.

Weather Service forecasters predicted an 80 percent chance of rain Tuesday afternoon in the Modesto area. The chance of rain will drop to 50 percent Tuesday night. Partly cloudy weather was expected in the Modesto area through the rest of the week with no more rain.

This story was originally published January 9, 2018 at 12:58 PM with the headline "National Weather Service issues Flood advisory for Stanislaus County, region."