Departing in a fury, the old year wound down Monday with a roar
of wind and heavy rains, overwhelming creeks and felling trees. The
forecast is for decreasing rain a slight chance of light rain
today. But, by Wednesday the chances of rain will be 40 percent
increasing to 60 percent on New Year
’s Day. Highs will hover between the high 50s and low 60s; lows
in the upper 30s to low 40s.
Departing in a fury, the old year wound down Monday with a roar of wind and heavy rains, overwhelming creeks and felling trees.
The forecast is for decreasing rain a slight chance of light rain today. But, by Wednesday the chances of rain will be 40 percent increasing to 60 percent on New Year’s Day. Highs will hover between the high 50s and low 60s; lows in the upper 30s to low 40s.
Small stream flood warnings were in effect throughout much of Northern California through the night.
In Southern California, residents of San Bernardino County, braced for flash floods and mudslides along wildfire-denuded mountain slopes as the powerful new Pacific storm churned into the state, bringing the threat of more flash floods and mudslides.
In Morgan Hill, downtown streets were hard hit, as usual, with Little Llagas Creek close to overflowing its banks from Watsonville Road, through downtown to West Main Avenue.
But the biggest loss by Monday afternoon was a 200- to 300-year-old oak tree on the corner of Depot Street and East Dunne Avenue. Looming forever over Hale Lumber on Depot, the tree went out in a blaze of glory and a very loud crack.
“We heard a big noise and everybody started running,” said Bob Traurig, a Hale Lumber owner.
Traurig said nobody was hurt but the tree took out a fence, the front steps and a little bit of the building. One limb fell over a telephone line, stretching it to the max but not pulling it down before rescue crews could appear.
Traurig put a positive spin on losing such a venerable tree – what some would consider a disaster.
“Now we’re selling firewood,” he said.
Donna Morton brought her camera to Hale Lumber after Traurig called her about the tree.
“They were really lucky (that no one was hurt),” Morton said. “But it is a big, fat mess.”
By 2 p.m. a total of .83 inches of rain had fallen in Morgan Hill, over a 24-hour period, bringing the yearly total to 8.39 inches. Last year’s total on the same date was 10.04 inches.
The Public Works department was closed for a city staff h,oliday furlough, though work crews notified by calls from police promptly showed up to clean out clogged storm drains.
Morgan Hill Police Lt. Joe Sampson had been out and about the city, keeping an eye on flooded areas.
“It flooded in the standard places,” Sampson said. “Some on Monterey near Watsonville Road, up north at Burnett and Mathilda Court.
Nearby reservoirs all still have lots of room to collect runoff according to the Santa Clara Valley Water District rain gauge chart.
Sandbags are available at El Toro Fire Station, Old Monterey Road, just west of the railroad underpass on Monterey Road and at the Public Works Dept., on Edes Court, west of Monterey Road between Cosmo and West Edmundson avenues.
