Central Fresno prepares for rain

Light but steady rain fell throughout parts of the valley Friday night and was a likely a factor in this accident on Highway 41 in central Fresno.

Even though a big storm hasn't arrived yet city officials in Fresno are hoping newly installed curbside storm drains will keep streets like this one in west central Fresno from flooding.

"The rain water that might used to collect on the streets now goes into the storm drain system so we're pretty happy about that." said Public Works director Patrick Wiemiller.

Wiemiller wants to avoid a repeat of what's been happening at this intersection of Parkview and Belmont. This is what the area looked like last year as crews worked to pump out the standing water that spilled into the R-J Auto Body Shop.

Owner Romero Rodriguez says the new gutters should be a big improvement.

"Ohh yeah for reals, it's going to … everyone's going to be happy. There's not going to be anymore no more water in the office. It'll be ok." said Rodriguez

Just up the street on parkway is another traditional hot spot for flooding. The cars are moving smoothly at this busy intersection now but drivers say when it rains it's tough to get through.

"Well you can actually make it around but you're really hugging the corner on the far left side because it gets real, I don't know how deep it gets right there but it gets flooded." said Tracy Thomas.

City workers built at least one storm drain here. And if it still gets flooded Wiemiller says crews will be around to clean things up.

"We have crews that are on call and standby 24/7, throughout these storm events so if we do have any problems we're able to respond quickly and get to the heart of the matter." said Wiemiller.

City officials also remind residents at home to make sure to clean up any leaves or debris in front of your home so that drains don't get clogged up.