Storm moving through California bringing heavy rain and fears of flooding to the Valley
FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- It was a wet Wednesday in Central California. Heavy rain was coming down on most of the Valley for much of the day.
Impressive rainfall, but not yet a "miracle March"
After one of the driest starts to the water year, rain is starting to fall again and that has people thinking about a "miracle March."
The wettest March on record was in 1991, with over 7 inches of rain.
RELATED: "March Miracle 1991" - Where were you and what do you remember?
But we are nowhere near that amount yet.
Prior to Wednesday's storm, there have only been 10 days of measurable rainfall in Fresno for the month of March with just over two inches.
That actually puts Fresno above average for the month but only at 45% of normal for the season.
Wednesday's storm has the possibility to deliver another inch and a half of rain by Thursday night.
That would put Fresno at around six inches of rain for the season so far and in the top ten wettest marches on record.
That year had the second wettest march on record in Fresno with nearly six inches of rain.
PG&E works to limit power outages
As the storm moves across our area, the crews of Pacific Gas and Electric are focused on the trees next to power poles. The concern is that rain can saturate the ground, which could cause trees to fall over and bring down power lines.
The good news is, PG&E doesn't believe that is likely to happen at this point.
On Wednesday, the utility company told Action News that they look at about 2,000 data points to predict outages. things like wind speed, rainfall, previous outage history.
With that information, crews can accurately predict how bad this storm is going to be and how many outages to expect.
So far, PG&E has only had one major outage during this storm. The majority are expected to come tomorrow.
Rain makes for tough driving
This storm officially hit the South Valley a little bit after 5 pm Wednesday evening and since then it has been raining non-stop.
The commute has been smooth for most of the day.
The California Highway Patrol says that after the storm hit on Wednesday, there were 18 accidents in Fresno County and 5 accidents in Tulare County.
With more rain pushing in Wednesday night, Tulare County's Fire Chief Charlie Norman is urging driver's on the road tomorrow be on the lookout for areas that could be impacted by flooding.
Fresno prepared to prevent flooding
As always the rain comes with concerns on the roadways.
But the City of Fresno Department of Public Works isn't worried about flooding this week, they say they've been preparing for the rain for months by clearing drains and keeping streets swept of leaves.
Crews spent the day clearing storm drains in areas with ponding water.
The city says the best thing you can do to help is to keep gutters and storm drain inlets in your neighborhood clear of any trash, leaves, or other debris.
