A close watch on rising waterways as clearer sky is on the horizon for Stanislaus County
After a wet and windy MLK Day holiday weekend, most of the rest of the week in Modesto is expected to be clear and calm, according to the National Weather Service’s seven-day forecast.
The Modesto Irrigation District had recorded just 0.03 inches of rain as of early Sunday afternoon, though the weather service said as much as three-fourths inch more was possible by Sunday night. Saturday, MID said, nearly half an inch fell.
Certainly the last few weeks have seen days of heavier rainfall — 1.51 inches Dec. 27, 1.62 inches Dec. 31 and 0.88 inches Jan. 9, so water and public safety officials are keeping close watch on Dry Creek, the San Joaquin River and other waterways in Stanislaus County.
According to the storm situational status report issued Sunday morning by the Sheriff’s Office, the San Joaquin River near Newman was at 64.2 feet, and the trend was for it to continue rising. Flood stage is 69.4 feet.
The Tuolumne river at Ninth Street was at 45.2 feet and rising. Its flood stage is 55 feet.
The flow of Dry Creek in Modesto also was rising, but Orestimba Creek on the county’s West Side was trending down.
The latest evacuation order was issued Saturday for an area of rural Patterson along the San Joaquin River. It affects the area east of Elm Avenue between Del Puerto Creek and Fig Avenue and includes about 55 homes.
Across the county, evacuations total 176 people, according to the situational status report. A total of 322 people have refused to evacuated, and the number of households warned is 605.
There are evacuation centers at Yolo Middle School in Newman and Hammon Senior Center in Patterson.
Sunday morning’s report put the anticipated rain total over the next nine days at 0.83 inches.
The NWS forecast for Monday in Modesto is an 80% chance of showers, mainly before 4 p.m. Up to half an inch is possible. There also is expected to be a west-northwest wind 10 to 13 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph. Monday night carries a 40% chance of showers before 10 p.m.
Tuesday is predicted to be mostly sunny, with a 30% chance of rain returning Wednesday after 4 p.m. and continuing into Wednesday night.
The forecast for the remainder of the week is mostly sunny to sunny, with continuing daily highs in the low 50s.
To view the Stanislaus County Office of Emergency Services’ live dashboard with shelter locations, sandbag locations, road closures and more, visit bit.ly/3XALRdF.
This story was originally published January 15, 2023 at 12:49 PM.
