Morning showers last sign of storm that brought record rain to Valley, dumped snow on Sierra

Another one-third of an inch of rain landed in Fresno early Tuesday morning, ending a storm that kicked off the week in the central San Joaquin Valley.

The storm brought record rainfall for the date as well as snow to the Sierra. William Peterson, a meteorologist technician with the National Weather Service in Hanford, said the weather pattern is now moving east. Patchy fog could develop in its wake.

In Fresno, 0.85 of an inch of rain was recorded Monday, more than triple the previous record for the date, set in 1957, of 0.28 of an inch. The weather service said it marked the wettest day since Dec. 12, when 1.33 inches fell on the city.

Elsewhere around the Valley, the result was much the same Monday: Records were set in Madera (0.84 of an inch), Merced (1.04 of an inch) and Hanford (0.36 of an inch). All three regions more than tripled previous records set in 2008.

The storm also delivered a foot of snow at elevations above 7,000 feet, the weather service said. China Peak ski area near Huntington Lake reported 12 to 16 inches of new snow. Webcams in Shaver Lake, which is at about 5,000 feet, showed light accumulations of snow.

Still, the four-year drought’s impact continues. The weather service noted that since Oct. 1, 2011, Fresno has gotten 27.24 inches of rain. Based on the average since record keeping began, Fresno should have received 46.72 inches. That means the city has gotten only 58 percent of normal – it is 19.48 inches below what it should be.

The situation improves slightly on a rain year-to-date basis. Since Oct. 1, Fresno has recorded 1.45 inches of rain – about twice the seasonal average for this point in the rain year, which runs from Oct. 1 through Sept. 30.

Cooler weather is expected to continue until the weekend. The high in Fresno on Monday was 64 degrees. Tuesday was 62, and Wednesday should cool slightly to 61 degrees. Peterson said that Friday through the weekend could have temperatures in the mid-70s, with patchy fog in the mornings and sunny skies in the afternoons.

While many Valley residents welcomed the rain, Fresno Rescue Mission Thrift Store and Cars was forced to close after the building was damaged in the storm. Employees heard a loud cracking sound Monday and found that a primary support beam broke, also causing fire suppression water lines to break.

The roof beam came to rest three feet from the floor. The building was safely evacuated and was temporarily closed. Rescue mission leaders are now looking for a distribution center to accept and sort donations.

This story was originally published November 3, 2015 at 12:24 PM with the headline "Morning showers last sign of storm that brought record rain to Valley, dumped snow on Sierra."