Rain storm expected in Merced County over the weekend

Temperatures reached 80 degrees with sunny skies the past week. But the National Weather Service said a warm storm system will likely pour more than an inch of rain onto Merced County this weekend.

A warm front is expected to sweep into the Central Valley with rain starting Friday morning, Meteorologist Carlos Molina said.

High temperatures, which have hovered about 10 degrees above average the past several days, also will jump down to about 65 degrees, Molina said.

A light rain is predicted to start in Merced County between 7 and 8 a.m. Friday and should drop about half an inch by midnight, Molina said. By Saturday morning, residents and motorists can expect the rain's intensity to increase and last through Sunday morning.

The two-day event will likely cause flooding on Highway 41 in the Pohono Bridge area at Yosemite National Park, Molina said, noting that water levels could rise more than five feet above the Merced River's flood stage.

"Almost once every five years we will see something like this," Molina said.

Mariposa County is still recovering from the March 22 storm that caused two people to go missing and both are presumed dead. And a man and a woman were believed to be swept away by flood waters in separate incidents in Mariposa County. The Mariposa County Sheriff’s Office said Wednesday there were no new developments.

The storm washed away road sections and caused widespread destruction, said Mike Healy, the county's public works director.

The storm was a "100-year storm" that has cost about $4 million in damage, Healy said.

"I think we're in pretty good shape," Healy said, crediting workers and contractors with cleaning up storm systems and other protective measures in advance of this weekend's storms.

"But Mother Nature always has the upper hand," Healy said.

Crews and contractors are bracing for between 1.5 and 2.5 inches across Mariposa County, Healy said. But as long as it doesn't fall in a short time period like the March 22 storm, it will be more manageable.

Central Valley residents can expect to see a break from the storms on Sunday and Monday, Molina said. Another storm system on Tuesday and Wednesday next week may just miss to the north.

This story was originally published April 4, 2018 at 4:18 PM with the headline "Rain storm expected in Merced County over the weekend."