The change in weather caught several drivers off guard, including Marcela Alvarez. She said, "Well, to me it was kinda a surprise because I live out of town now. I used to live in Fresno. I live in san Diego now, so I have to drive in this rain for about five hours now."
The California Highway Patrol responded to a series of weather related crashes Sunday. With more rain expected throughout the night, as well as one to two feet of fresh snow in the Sierras, their advice is to slow down.
"It's really important with the first rains because it actually draws the oil to the surface of the roadway and makes it more slippery."
The rain affected local businesses as well. In Northeast Fresno, customers swarmed this auto zone in search of new wiper blades.
Robert Gillam said, "I just know it's supposed to be raining. I didn't know there was a storm coming.
"But, now you're prepared?"
"Now I'm prepared."
Fresno Ag Hardware stayed prepared with shelves full of tarps and other weather related items.
Adam Klusener said, "Recently, we've sold a lot of tarps, so I mean, they come in and they buy them. They know the rain is coming and they cover everything up."
Despite the storm, this Red Carpet car wash in Clovis remained open. But, as expected, business was slow. Geno Saavedra said, "Well, it does give us a bit of a slow down, but that doesn't stop people from coming in."
Janette Valdez said, "We didn't know it was going to rain."
"Now that it is, do you regret getting it washed?"
"Yes..Ha ha."
The rain tapered off by Monday. The CHP says, none of the crashes they responded to involved any major injuries.
