Enjoy a few days of sun, Fresno. There’s another storm a-brewing, forecasters say
After the San Joaquin Valley had a deluge of rain over the past two weeks, the forecast Wednesday calls for a few dry days before another storm hits.
There isn’t any rain but rather some sunshine forecast through Saturday, according to Jim Brusda, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Hanford.
That may be welcome news after the Fresno area and the Valley have seen several atmospheric rivers that have already poured more than twice the precipitation seen through a typical April 1 in many places in the region.
In the past 48 hours, Fresno recorded 0.7 inches, while Visalia saw almost an inch and Merced was washed with 1.4 inches, Brusda said on Wednesday.
“(Merced) had a heavy shower that went through last night that let out almost 0.9 (inches) that happened over 30 minutes,” he said.
Fresno has tallied 11.6 inches of rain since Jan. 1 compared to an average of 5.06, and Visalia (10.99) and Merced (12.36) also have more than doubled their averages of 4.44 and 5.09, respectively.
The Sierra got about 2-4 inches in the past 48 hours, Brusda said.
The snowpack on Tuesday was measured at 260% of normal for the date, and 249% of the historic April 1 average.
But the next three days were predicted to be partly sunny with highs in the mid-60s, the weather service said.
Forecasters say there’s about a 20% chance of rain Saturday night and into the morning that increases to about 60% by Tuesday.
There is a chance of another atmospheric river next Wednesday though it has not so far gotten the official classification, Brusda said. That storm looks to be about as wet as the one that just passed, but over a longer time — more like 60 hours rather than 48.
“It’s just not going to come all at the same time,” he said.
