The year's first big storm could lead to local flooding, the National Weather Service says.
The NWS has issued a flood advisory for Stanislaus and San Joaquin Counties, expiring at 7:30 p.m. tonight.
The nearest NWS monitoring station, in Modesto, reports that the Tuolumne River sat at 38.06 feet of elevation as of 3 p.m., projected to rise to 38.2 feet on Thursday. That's still well below the river's flood stage, at 55 feet.
The Turlock Irrigation District reports that .22 inches of rain had fallen at its Canal Drive main office as of 3 p.m. That's in addition to .05 inches of rain which fell late Tuesday evening.
The heart of the storm struck Downtown Turlock shortly after 3 p.m., temporarily knocking the district's weather system offline.
That rapid rainfall has resulted in minor flooding throughout Turlock, as the city's storm drain system struggles to keep up.
Rainfall is expected to continue on Thursday, though likely at a slower rate. The winter storm is expected to end by Friday, with no rainfall currently forecast for the following week.
