Heavy downpours hammer the Valley

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- Round two of storms hit several pockets of the Central Valley Friday afternoon.

Fresno was a major target in the storm's path.

Cars drove through a flooded Highway 99 while Fulton Street temporarily became "Lake Fulton" as rain overwhelmed drains across town.

"We were just running to the car and the students to the bus," San Joaquin resident Leonel Ramirez said.

Families across the Valley found themselves in the thick of it.

Ramirez and his daughter were at a high school softball game when the clouds rolled in.

"It started raining so hard they had to stop the game," he said. "So, now we are getting back home and we see its flooded in our area. So I think where I live is going to be flooded too."

The storm moved so slowly, it caused ponds several inches deep to form, causing problems for local farmers.

"It just pops it open, it pretty much damages it a lot," farmer Oscar Contreras said.

Growers say the rain Friday and hail from Thursday dropped their fruit from Grade 1 to Grade 3, meaning they can't sell the cherries at full price.

"They would sell them overseas," Contreras said. "But they can't them like this, they would throw them away, it was just be at a loss."

Some of the farmers are happy and some are not because at this point its too late," Ramirez said. "But we can't complain. We need the water."

And there were people standing outside a few businesses looking like they were stranded on an island. We talked with a DJ who was setting up for a party when the building he was in, sprung a leak.

"It's a lot of work," DJ Gyant explained. "I didn't expect to do. I was really just trying to hang out, have a good time and now I got to get it dry before everybody gets here and I'm the only one here, I'm the DJ, I'm not even part of the club."

Despite the extra work, he did have a good attitude. Fortunately, DJ Gyant was able to keep his equipment dry, but there was a lot of water inside the building.

There was so much, he had to use a vacuum and a mop to clean it all up.

That is commitment, but, as they say, the show must go on.