National Weather Service predicts rain through Monday
Morgan Hill – Rain will continue to pelt South County for the first few days of the new year, but shouldn’t cause any flooding or spill out of local streams and reservoirs
“We’re looking at most of the storm going north of us,” said Santa Clara Valley Water District Spokesman Mike DiMarco. “Beyond the normal problems we have with the Llagas, we don’t expect any extraordinary flooding. The creeks themselves are in good shape, and flows have decreased. There should be enough capacity in creeks along the valley floor to carry runoff away from the valley.”
DiMarco said the district crews will conduct visual inspections of the usual “hot spots” all weekend, including the intersection of Watsonville Road and Monterey Highway, and Hale Avenue between Wright and Main avenues.
“Water gets rushing pretty heavy through there and can lap out of the little ditch,” DiMarco said of the Little Llagas Creek.
The National Weather Service forecast for South County calls for steady showers through Monday with the possibility of thunderstorms and winds gusting as high as 40 miles per hour.
The rain, which comes after a dry start to the rainy season, is the result of a cold front that’s tapped into a sub-tropical moisture plume NWS forecaster Diana Henderson said.
“It’s just one of those years when the polar jet stream decided to move a little south,” Henderson said. “With warmer air, there’s more humidity and more rain.”
Typically, weather systems reach South County from the Gulf of Alaska, but this storm originated over the Pacific Ocean. Henderson said there’s no way to know if the jet stream will remain over the Pacific through the winter or migrate north.
Sandbag It
Throughout the rainy season sand bags can be obtained at:
El Toro Fire Station, 18300 Old Monterey Road, next to the
Union Pacific Railroad overpass above Monterey Highway, Morgan Hill
County South Yard, 13600 Murphy Avenue, San Martin
