Weekend showers headed to Merced

A storm expected to hit Northern California this weekend will also bring some rain to Merced, offering a little relief from last month’s record lack of rainfall.

According to the National Weather Service, Merced will see some showers starting Friday, sometime before dark. The on-and-off showers are expected to continue through Sunday.

Carlos Molina, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Hanford, said anything between 0.5 inches and 1 inch of total precipitation is expected in Merced by Sunday morning.

Winds of 10 to 20 mph are also expected in the area throughout Friday and early Saturday, before conditions let up Saturday night. Meteorologists are looking at another possible storm system moving into the area on Sunday.

Northern areas of the state will get the most out of the storm, Molina said. Places such as Redding, Sacramento and as far south as Stockton could see 2 to 3 inches of precipitation over the next few days.

The Sacramento Bee reported that this weekend’s storm will likely produce high winds in the Sacramento Valley and a threat of flooding on some major Northern California rivers, including the upper Sacramento River.

However, because the storm is described as a “warm storm,” it is not expected to contribute much to California’s mountain snowpack.

Roger Bales, director of UC Merced’s Sierra Nevada Research Institute, said this is a big problem because snowmelt is needed to refill reservoirs for spring and summertime.

Reservoirs already don’t have much water in them, making each dry year a bigger problem, he said.

Bales estimated four to five storms each winter would be needed for the next couple of years to relieve the area’s drought conditions.

But this weekend’s storm will help a little. Water officials have said the heavy rainfall runoff from this storm will help refill reservoirs, replenish groundwater and recharge streams. It will also help rangeland, farm fields and natural habitats that are reliant solely on precipitation.

In Merced, February’s precipitation forecast is “looking a little better” compared with January, Molina said

Merced has only received 0.02 inches of rain since Jan. 1. During the rainfall season, which begins Oct. 1, Merced had received 4.77 inches of rain; 6.40 inches is normal.

While another storm might hit Northern California and parts of Central California at the end of next week, Molina said, it’s still unknown if that system will bring any significant showers to the Merced area.

Fog, however, is also expected to return to the region next week, forecasters said.

This story was originally published February 5, 2015 at 6:29 PM with the headline "Weekend showers headed to Merced."