Merced welcomes El Niño weather system

Under an umbrella used as shelter, a little blond dog named Recycle sat cuddled up in blankets Monday in Merced’s Courthouse Park as a drizzly rain soaked the lawn and streets.

Recycle’s owner, 59-year-old Brian Evans, sat nearby on a bench under a tree as El Niño – the highly anticipated weather system named “little boy” – finally arrived in California.

Rain in Merced is expected until Friday, when a few showers may linger, said Brian Ochs, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Hanford.

Ochs predicted the first weather system, which will last throughout Tuesday, could drop up to 1 inch of rain on the Valley floor. Another system will drop additional rain – though not as much – Wednesday and Thursday. Showers may linger Friday, he said.

This week is the first that Merced and other Valley locations will experience the effects of El Niño since Oct. 1, when the rainy season began. Previous rain storms in the months of November and December were typical winter patterns for that time of year, Ochs said.

Though Merced’s rain total on Monday, at 3.72 inches, lagged slightly behind the date’s average, Ochs predicted this week’s rain would help surpass the average of 3.85 inches.

More than a foot of snow is expected this week in the Sierra at elevations above 6,000 feet. The snowpack currently is slightly above average for this time of year, Ochs said.

“It’s quite a bit higher than what it’s been for this time of year in quite some time,” Ochs said, referring to the dismal 2014 and 2015 readings.

Yosemite National Park has seen a good amount of snow so far this winter, and it was snowing there Monday, said Lisa Cesaro, a spokesperson for Delaware North, the park’s vendor. About 4 feet of snow covers the ground at the top of the hill on the ski slope.

“It’s provided really wonderful skiing we haven’t seen at Badger Pass in years,” Cesaro said. “Not only is it good to have snow in Badger Pass during winter, it will provide for a nice spring waterfall season, too.”

With wet weather expected throughout the week, the Merced County Rescue Mission predicts a full house in its shelters.

Phil Schmauss, director of marketing at the Rescue Mission, said those seeking shelter should check in at the Rescue Mission after dinner, or around 6 p.m. The Rescue Mission is located at 1921 Canal St.

The Rescue Mission operates a men’s shelter and a shelter on D Street, and recently collaborated with a local church to offer a warming center during cold and wet weather. When temperatures are expected to be below 40 degrees and conditions wet, the church warming center will open.

This story was originally published January 4, 2016 at 6:14 PM with the headline "Merced welcomes El Niño weather system."