Scattered storm system makes measurement a challenge

The weather system that moved through Stanislaus County on Thursday dropped 0.38 inches of rain in downtown Modesto; about 0.33 in Oakdale; and 0.39 at a measurement station 13 miles southwest of Patterson, a National Weather Service forecaster said Friday. The Turlock Irrigation District recorded just 0.01 inches.

The scattered system from the Gulf of Alaska was “kind of limited in moisture,” said weather service meteorologist Craig Shoemaker. “The precipitation that fell was due to moderate instability” in the system. “Some areas got a lot of rain, some others got very little. A lot of our gauges just weren’t in the right spots to record it.”

In the Valley, the days ahead look clear – ideal for a weekend that includes the Oakdale Chocolate Festival on Saturday and Sunday; Saturday’s Relay for Life at Johansen High School; the Family Cycling Festival & Criterium in downtown Modesto; and the Community Safety Saturday event in Turlock.

The weather service forecast for Saturday is mostly sunny with a high near 77. Sunday also will be sunny, with a high near 75.

The early days of next week will continue with mild temperatures, rising midweek. The high Monday should be near 74, then near 77 on Tuesday. The highs Wednesday and Thursday are expected to be near 81.

“It looks like most of the (weather) activity will remain in the mountains in the next several days,” Shoemaker said. As for the snow that’s already fallen this week, “it’s hard for us to get actual ground truth measurements,” he said. The weather service largely is relying on remote sensing and satellite imagery. He estimates that from 2 to as much as 8 inches of snow has fallen in areas of the Tuolumne River watershed above 6,000 feet.

“It’s nice that we’re getting these late systems,” Shoemaker said.

Stanislaus National Forest public affairs officer Rebecca Garcia agreed that the precipitation will help keep forest fire fuels from drying out quickly, but said conditions in California have been so dry for so long that “for us, fire season is just a term.” At any point in the year, the U.S. Forest Service is prepared for higher staffing and alerts in the event of wildfires.

This story was originally published May 15, 2015 at 2:00 PM with the headline "Scattered storm system makes measurement a challenge."