About 2,200 customers in northwest Modesto had their power restored Wednesday afternoon after an outage caused by a wet and windy storm. The Modesto Irrigation District (MID) reported the outage at 3:34 p.m., with service restored before 5 p.m. The affected area was generally between Standiford and Pelandale avenues, including small parts of Dale and Prescott roads, but did not impact Vintage Faire Mall or other major shopping centers.
The storm brought significant rainfall to the region, with MID’s downtown offices recording 1.15 inches as of 3 p.m. Wednesday. Of this total, 0.43 inches fell between 6 and 7 a.m.
Elsewhere in the region, the Turlock Irrigation District reported that 83 customers were without power late Wednesday morning in scattered areas from Hilmar to the hills west of Patterson.
Flood concerns prompted a watch for several homes near the Ninth Street Bridge over the Tuolumne River on Monday. However, according to the California Department of Water Resources, water levels remained about eight feet below flood stage at this location on Wednesday morning. The Stanislaus and San Joaquin rivers also stayed well below flood stage due to large upstream reservoirs.
Authorities advised residents to be cautious of streets prone to flooding because of poor drainage. The California Highway Patrol noted such conditions on Hatch Road and Wallin Way at 10:30 a.m.
Strong winds associated with the storm have led to fallen trees in some areas, including one incident on East Union Avenue in Modesto that did not cause major damage.
Since July 1, MID has recorded 3.76 inches of rain—just under its historical average for this point in the weather year. Most precipitation typically falls between November and March, averaging about 12.2 inches annually.
Snowpack levels in the central Sierra Nevada are crucial for local water supplies like MID’s. Earlier this week, snowpack stood at 14% but increased to 20% by Wednesday according to state officials. While this current storm is relatively warm and unlikely to add much snow, another system expected later in the week could bring more significant snowfall.
The National Weather Service forecasted up to a tenth of an inch of rain for Modesto Wednesday afternoon with another quarter-inch overnight; Christmas Day could see up to half an inch more rain followed by additional showers into early Friday before dry conditions likely return Saturday morning.
Winds were expected around 15 miles per hour Wednesday afternoon with gusts up to 28 mph; gusts could reach as high as 44 mph overnight and up to 37 mph on Christmas Day.
