No major problems caused by weekend storm

The storms which swept through California over a wet and blustery weekend brought much-needed rain to the region but spared the area any significant weather-related problems.

Rainfall amounts of about an inch and a half were reported from the time showers moved into the area at mid-week through Tuesday morning, with most of that falling over the long holiday weekend.

Showers, at times heavy, continued intermittently through the day Tuesday as the unsettled weather continued.

Area farmers and ranchers welcomed the precipitation, which will help nourish current crops, build soil moisture in orchards and nurture growth on the foothill ranges where cattle graze.

“This has been a nice little storm,” said Pat Borrelli of Gustine. “It has been a nice steady rain, with the ground taking it all in.”

The rains should help crops and grazing lands take off as temperatures warm and days grow longer, noted Gustine farmer Steve Bell.

“You get some good, deep moisture this time of year and it really helps,” Bell commented. “The hills have been soaking it up beautifully.”

As much as they appreciate the rains soaking into West Side fields, farmers are also keeping a close eye on the storm’s contributions to the state’s snowpack, which is the source of irrigation water throughout the year.

“We are getting some snow, so maybe it will change the outlook on how much water we will receive,” Bell said. “Right now the snowpack is as important as anything. We need the snow.”

Newman almond grower Jim Jasper said the recent rains have been as welcome in the orchards as they were in the fields and hills.

“The rains are helping us to avoid some irrigation,” Jasper noted. “Two weeks ago the soil profile was such that we had to get some water on those almonds. We started to do some irrigation, but now with these rains we can save some of that water for later.

“These are nice, soaking rains,” he added. “We haven’t seen any runoff.”

Over the course of 10 days leading up to Tuesday, Jasper said, more than two inches of rain had been recorded.

“One of the things we really like is that the Orestimba Creek is starting to come down a little,” he pointed out. “That helps recharge our aquifer.”

Welcome as they were, the rains do not alleviate California’s drought and the water worries facing local agriculture.

Still, the farmers pointed out, March has been known to be a month of heavy storms.

They are holding out hope for that – and for relaxed environmental restrictions on the pumping of water through the delta which blocks water delivery from Northern California reservoirs.

“Water is still extremely short in the federal districts, and even with rains there could still be a zero allocation,” Jasper explained. “Part of the problem is the environmental issue with pumping in the delta.”

No major problems were reported in Gustine or Newman as a result of the weekend wind and rains, according to Newman Superintendent of Public Works Doug Mutoza and Borrelli, who is Gustine’s fire chief.

A couple of intersections in Newman were flooded temporarily as a result of broken or plugged storm drain lines, including one in front of Von Renner Elementary School. City workers pumped away most of that standing water early Tuesday morning before students began arriving for class.

According to Lance Perry, who measures rainfall at the Newman wastewater treatment plant, the storm system dropped 1.41 inches of precipitation from the time showers started Wednesday through Tuesday morning. That pushed year-to-date rainfall (measured from July 1) to 6.79 inches, Perry said, down from 8.5 inches last year.