Officials brace for more storms and flood threat over next 14 days in Modesto area
The prospect of more potent storms in the Modesto area prompted emergency officials to set up a response team.
On Sunday, they established the Central Valley Incident Management Team. It coordinates efforts on flooding and other impacts in much of Stanislaus County and its mountain neighbors.
The National Weather Service said storms will continue into mid-January and possibly later in the month. Modesto could get up to 6 inches between Jan. 4 and 10 alone. The forecast includes wind gusts of up to 45 miles per hour Wednesday and Thursday.
All of this follows rain and snow that have been well above average since late October.
The coming storms could put pressure on Dry Creek in Modesto and other small streams. They also could bring more street flooding in areas with poor drainage.
Widespread flooding is not expected thanks to two huge reservoirs in the Sierra Nevada foothills. Don Pedro on the Tuolumne River was at 61% of capacity Monday, the California Department of Water Resources reported. New Melones on the Stanislaus River was at 30%. Both were drawn down by below-average runoff the past three years.
The snowpack in the central Sierra Nevada stood at 182% of average Tuesday, DWR said. It is the main source for cities and farms in the Northern San Joaquin Valley.
The new team is monitoring conditions in central and eastern Stanislaus County and in Tuolumne and Calaveras counties. It is made up of several fire agencies, said a Facebook post by the Modesto Fire Department.
“The current priorities of the team are to provide for life safety, assess and protect critical infrastructure, minimize environmental impact, and to assist and partner with neighboring agencies,” the post said.
The Modesto Irrigation District has recorded 8.69 inches of rain in the water year that began July 1. Most tends to come from midautumn to midspring. An average year is 12.12 inches.
This year’s Modesto total includes 0.35 inches that fell Monday. The Weather Service said the next storm could bring 2 to 3 inches of rain Wednesday and Thursday, along with up to 3 feet of snow in the watershed. Another 2 to 3 inches of rain could fall Friday through Monday, with as much as 5 feet of snow.
Above-average storms are shown through January by the Climate Prediction Center as the NWS. The model is rougher than week-ahead forecasts but still can help residents prepare.
This story was originally published January 3, 2023 at 12:12 PM.
