Storm causes some flooding in Merced and county

Merced received 0.66 inches of rain early Tuesday, with a promise of more Wednesday.

The largest amount of precipitation in some time has triggered some localized flooding in the city of Merced and scattered portions of the county.

Rainfall, however, will be diminishing by Wednesday night and it should be dry here Thursday, according to Gary Sanger, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Hanford. A couple of light showers are expected in this area late Friday night and Saturday, but otherwise it will be dry and foggy into next week.

Sanger said Merced received 0.22 inches of rain in an earlier weekend storm. Since Jan. 1, this area has gotten 5.98 inches of rain, about half of the normal yearly rainfall of 12.5 inches.

Yosemite Valley received a steady downpour Tuesday but no snow, according to Ashley Mayer, a National Park Service ranger and park spokeswoman. Snow has been reported at about 8,500 feet elevation.

Over the past three weeks, a series of more modest showers came through Yosemite, Mayer said. Tioga Road was closed the weekend before Thanksgiving and has not reopened due to hazardous road conditions. But Tioga Road has not closed for the season yet, Cobb said, and when it does depends on the weather.

In the city of Merced, not much rain-related damage was reported Tuesday. Public Works Director Stan Murdock said some ponds formed in low-lying areas but that’s typical with this much rain.

Flooding was reported on R Street south of Highway 99 and Childs Avenue just east of Highway 59 near the Merced County Fairgrounds. In that area, water was nearly 2 feet deep around noon Tuesday and the road was temporarily closed until pumps could handle the water.

In Merced County, public works officials responded Tuesday to flooded roads in Ballico, Winton, Hilmar, Delhi and Livingston areas, county spokesman Mike North said.

Cypress Avenue between Almond Avenue and Crawford Street in the Winton area was closed due to flooding, along with Cressey Way between Liberty and Almond avenues. Bradbury Road near Youngstown Road in the Ballico area also experienced flooding.

Bloss Avenue at Tegner Road in the Hilmar area was flooded, along with Golf Link Road between Bradbury Road and Golden State Boulevard and Williams Avenue between Tegner Road and Columbus Avenue. A clogged storm drain was reported on Second Street in the Hilmar area.

Public works crews also responded to Margaret Court at Lewis Circle in Delhi for a report of flooding. A downed tree was blocking most of Longview Avenue between Dwight Way and Lincoln Boulevard in the Livingston area, according to North.

National Weather Service meteorologist Carlos Molina said the new storm will give the Valley a “decent chance” at making a “dent” in the state’s historic drought.

But charred areas from recent forest fires, including the massive Rim fire that burned 400 square miles within and around Yosemite National Park, are in danger of experiencing slides of mud and rock, Molina said. Yosemite and Lake Isabella in Kern County are of particular concern, Molina said.

The weather service’s flash-flood warning is for the southern Sierra Nevada from Yosemite to Kings Canyon National Park, including the communities of Shaver Lake and Yosemite Valley.

The storm, moving in from the south, is carrying warmer moisture, which means snow was expected to stay above 8,000 feet elevation throughout Tuesday afternoon, Molina said.

“That’s somewhat of a bad thing,” Molina said of the high snowline. “The storm is coming down as rain, so it’s not collecting up in the mountains like it should be at this point. The more snowpack can accumulate, the better you are for filling the reservoirs and having that precipitation for later use.”

The upside: “In the short term, it’s beneficial because we are actually getting the rain we need,” Molina said. “In terms of just moistening Central California, it’s really helping us out.”

The storm also was causing strong winds in Southern California on Tuesday morning. On Interstate 5 between Kern and Los Angeles counties, gusts were blowing between 50 and 60 mph, Molina said.

This story was originally published December 2, 2014 at 6:56 PM with the headline "Storm causes some flooding in Merced and county."