Storms last week.
Maybe the hottest Jan. 29 in city history.
More rain to follow.
Welcome to winter in California.
Last week’s storms delivered 3.5 inches of rain between since last Friday, bringing Turlock’s water-year total to 8.67 inches and firmly into the “above average” category, according to Stanislaus State professor Ryan Hollister, who operates a weather station at his home near Turlock High School.
On this date last year — an historically wet year — Turlock had received 14.65 inches of rain for the water year.
The average rainfall total for this point in the water year is 6.3 inches.
Local weather is expected to be unseasonably warm this weekend, with highs in the 60s and potentially reaching 70 degrees on Monday.
According to data provided by Hollister, the hottest January temperature in Turlock’s history came on Jan. 13, 1898, when the thermometer hit 75 degrees. In fact, nine of the hottest January temperatures on record for Turlock were recorded in 1898.
The record high for Jan. 29 in Turlock’s history was 67 degrees in — you guessed it — 1898. Should the mercury hit 70 degrees on Monday it would be a new record for that specific date.
But don’t get too used to the spring-like weather. More rain is on the horizon.
“The jet stream out in the Pacific is dropping down and pointing all those winds on California, and those storms will ride in on those conveyor-belt-like winds,” said Hollister. “It’s still uncertain as to the specifics, and it seems like Southern California might be more in the crosshairs, but the pattern is setting up and could bring another 2 to 3 inches in that Feb. 1 through Feb. 5 window. There are scenarios where things are drier and things are wetter, but that’s kind of the average take on things right now.”
That’s in line with the National Weather Service forecast.
“There’s a slight chance of rain on Tuesday night and then chance of showers on Wednesday and Wednesday night,” said Karl Swanberg, a forecaster for the NWS in Sacramento. “Then, more rain showers on Thursday and Thursday night, with a chance of rain showers Friday.”
Turlock Irrigation District, which measures precipitation through the Tuolumne River Watershed, reports 10.95 inches of precipitation through Jan. 22. Nearly 6 inches of that fell during the month of January.
“This is below the historic September-through-January average for 18.95 inches,” said Brandon McMillan, TID communications specialist. “That being said, we do have some precipitation in the forecast — approximately 5 to 7 inches of precipitation over the next 14 days or so.”
Don Pedro Reservoir has risen slightly during the recent storms and is at 796 feet, which is a few feet below the winter flood control line of 801.9 feet.
