Fresno area dries up after a wet 24 hours. Another storm front may bring more rain

The Fresno experienced a wet 24 hours , as a storm brought significant rain (and some snow) to the Valley.

The main storm front came in Monday afternoon, according to the National Weather Service, dumping close to an inch (.97 to be exact) of rain on the Fresno area. Snow levels were reported as low as 2,500 feet. The National Weather Service issued flood advisories and traffic was temporarily halted on Interstate 5 over the Grapevine.

It was the most significant rainfall this month and brought the monthly rain totals to 1.17 inches. That’s just above the average for March.

Those totals could increase as another cold coastal storm looks to moved into the Fresno area on Sunday or Monday. That storm could last through next Wednesday and bring .5 to an inch of rain, according to Modesto Vasquez, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Hanford.

The area could use it following six weeks earlier this winter with little or no precipitation. For the season, Fresno has seen 4.71 inches of rain.

That’s way off the seasonal norm of 8.84 inches.

“We’re still in a deficit,” Vasquez said.

The rest of this week should be dry, with temperatures returning to near average.

This story was originally published March 17, 2020 at 11:10 AM.