Flash flooding? Here’s when rain will start in Fresno as ‘extreme’ winter storm arrives
A major winter storm bearing down on the central San Joaquin Valley could bring mudslides, flash flooding and potentially dangerous driving conditions for Monday morning commuters.
The storm could drop an inch or more in the Fresno area by mid-morning Monday and up to four to six inches of rain in the foothills, said meteorologist Bill South with the National Weather Service in Hanford.
“The most intense and heaviest rain could start around 4 a.m. and continue through the morning rush hour on Monday,” South said. “It would behoove people to drive carefully and be on the lookout for ponding water, street flooding and anything that might cause them to hydroplane.”
Also, heavy rain in the areas torched by last year’s Creek Fire could cause mudslides, rock slides and flash flooding. The wildfire burned nearly 380,000 acres in the mountains of eastern Fresno and Madera counties in fall 2020, creating areas with little to no vegetation on the forest floor.
Above 8,000 feet in the Sierra Nevada, two to four feet of snow is expected with wind gusts to 60 mph.
“We are going to see some extreme winter storm conditions Sunday evening through Monday,” South said.
The quick moving storm should be done drenching the Valley by Monday afternoon with only sporadic thunderstorms remaining.
“We still have a chance of rain Monday afternoon, but it won’t be widespread and by Monday evening the chance of rain decreases to zero,” South said.
Sheriff’s map illustrates flood risk
The Fresno County Sheriff’s Office has posted an interactive map, available via the sheriff’s webpage at www.fresnosheriff.org, with zones of “extreme risk” and “high risk” for flooding and slides in the areas near Big Creek, Huntington Lake and Shaver Lake – areas that were devastated by the Creek Fire.
Residents can type their address into the search field on the map to see the risk level assigned to their neighborhood.
This story was originally published October 24, 2021 at 12:25 PM.
