Modesto’s next storm looks to be colder and wetter — up to 3 inches by Tuesday night
Mother Nature is serving up another autumn soaking for the Modesto area, which could get up to 3 inches by late Tuesday, Dec. 14.
It will be colder than the late October storms, bringing as much as 80 inches of snow to upper reaches of the city’s Sierra Nevada watershed starting early Sunday.
The National Weather Service forecast a low of 36 in the Modesto area Friday night and early Saturday. That’s a little above freezing but still of concern for vulnerable people, pets and plants.
The lows will be in the 40s as the storm moves in Sunday, the Weather Service said, and it could bring high winds. The brunt is expected through Monday, followed by showers Tuesday and possibly more into Thursday.
The forecast calls for snow as low as 4,000 feet to start and 2,500 feet by Tuesday Sixty to 80 inches are possible at Sonora Pass, the 9,620-foot summit of Highway 108, already closed for the winter.
The actual water yield from the melted snow next year depends on its density, which varies by storm. But it will be welcome in a state that is two years into a drought.
The central Sierra had 22% of its average snowpack for Dec. 10, the California Department of Water Resources said. That was up from 15% last week thanks to a modest storm.
The storm season is mainly from November through March, but the current one got an early start with the late October rain and snow. It brought about 3.4 inches to the downtown gauge of the Modesto Irrigation District, about a quarter of the average annual total.
MID recorded 0.8 inches Tuesday and another 0.10 inches Thursday. The more important readings are from its Tuolumne River watershed.
This story was originally published December 10, 2021 at 2:37 PM.
