More rain is on the way, but the worst of a series of storms
lined up across the ocean passed Thursday, culminating in a rare
tornado warning in Morgan Hill.
More rain is on the way, but the worst of a series of storms lined up across the ocean passed Thursday, culminating in a rare tornado warning in Morgan Hill.
Showers will appear sporadically today, with the rain decreasing throughout the night, according to forecaster Brian Tentinger of the National Weather Service.
“You’ll have a few showers Saturday as well, but trending less and less,” Tentinger said. “You’ll probably see the sun Saturday afternoon.”
Then more clouds will appear, with a chance of rain late Sunday, and into Monday and Tuesday.
No significant damage has been reported as a result of the storms that started early Monday morning, and dumped nearly five inches of rain on downtown Morgan Hill. Police reported numerous traffic accidents on the wet roads, among the worst a collision that sent three to the hospital Thursday morning.
Also Thursday morning, more than 500 South County residents were without electricity due to storm-related power line damage. Most of those were in the Gilroy area, according to PG&E spokeswoman Tamar Sarkissian.
Downtown businesses feared the same kind of flooding that happened with the season’s first storm, Oct. 13, 2009. They prepared by piling up sandbags in front of their doors.
Trail Dust Barbeque, at 17240 Monterey St., suffered minor damages in the October storm as floodwaters seeped through sandbags and shallowly covered the entire floor, owner Eric Ingram said.
But the restaurant hasn’t seen any damage this week. “Not even any roof leaks,” Ingram said.
Little Llagas Creek, which flows south through downtown, filled until the water was inches from the top. But the creek never crested, and widespread flooding didn’t happen.
Crews from the city and Santa Clara Valley Water District spent the last two weeks cleaning out creeks and metal grates on culverts passing under city streets.
“We and the city are coordinating closely on watching weather forecasts, our activities, (the city’s) activities, and keeping sandbag stations stocked,” said Liang Lee, water district deputy operating officer for the Uvas Watershed.
Two local self-serve sandbag stations – one at El Toro Fire Station and one on Murphy Avenue in San Martin – were restocked throughout the week by the water district. Nearly 4,000 bags already full of sand, plus another 15 tons of sand and 800 empty canvas bags have been delivered to Morgan Hill since Monday, Lee said. Nearly 3,000 sandbags delivered Friday were gone quickly.
In addition, the city operated two sandbag stations – one at the public works yard on Edes Court, and a temporary self-serve location at the Caltrain parking lot on Depot Street.
City officials reported localized flooding at problem intersections. Those reports were unrelated to the creek levels. One of those intersections was at Monterey Road and Burnett Avenue, which flooded two days in a row. On Wednesday, city crews discovered the problem was a blocked gutter, which they were able to clear, Public Works Director Jim Ashcraft said.
Everyone will continue to keep a close eye on Little Llagas Creek, particularly where it crosses Main Avenue, at Hale Avenue.
“The creek didn’t overflow, but we’re going to stay ready for it,” Ashcraft said.
Forecasters at the NWS office in Monterey saw a blip on the radar Wednesday afternoon that could have indicated a possible tornado, Tentinger said. A tornado warning lasted about 30 minutes, prompting Live Oak High School officials to limit the exit of students from their classrooms.
Although quarter-sized hail and rotation in the clouds were reported in parts of Morgan Hill, the strengthening storm never fully formed a twister, Tentinger said.
PG&E crews were working “24-7” to reconnect electricity for customers affected by downed power lines, Sarkissian said.
“We have all hands on deck, and we’re bringing crews in from outside of our area to help us make sure our customers are back up and running as soon as possible.”
And the storms have been a boon for Santa Clara County reservoirs. The 10 reservoirs owned by the water district were about 54 percent full by Thursday afternoon, and that is expected to continue climbing as more water runs off the hills.
On Sunday, before the rain started, they were only at 42 percent. Now the reservoirs, including Anderson Lake, contain about 91,000 acre feet of water. An acre foot is enough to supply a family of five for two years.
“These storms have significantly helped our water supply,” water district spokeswoman Susan Siravo said.
