Storm blows through Stanislaus County, knocks down trees, causes flooding [The Modesto Bee]
Jan. 27 There was a lot of wind and numerous calls about street flooding and downed trees and limbs that damaged vehicles as a strong storm blew through Stanislaus County over the last 12 hours.
However, as of early Wednesday morning, there were no reports of major structure damage or injuries, according to Modesto-area law enforcement.
The National Weather Service still had a high-wind warning in effect through 8 a.m. this morning as gusts of more than 60 mph and steady winds of up to 40 mph were felt throughout the county Tuesday night and Wednesday morning. A weather service list of peak winds over the past 24 hours showed 51 mph in Modesto and 56 in Knights Ferry.
Current drought conditions contributing to historically dry year
The local region’s current water year is shaping up to be one of the driest on record according to Turlock Irrigation District, with below-average rainfall amplifying California’s existing state of drought.
Data provided by TID Hydrologist Olivia Cramer during Tuesday’s Board of Directors meeting showed that from September 2020 through Jan. 10, 2021, the Tuolumne River Watershed has so far received 5.55 inches of precipitation. Compared to TID’s historical average of 19.02 inches for those same dates, the recent 2020-2021 rainfall numbers account for just 37.9% of normal.
According to Cramer, weather forecasts for the next 16 days are bleak and represent less precipitation than predicted by even the driest scenarios. The rivershed could see as little as a quarter of an inch or less than one-tenth of an inch of rain in the next two weeks based on the forecast.
New stop signs ordered for rural locations A new all-way stop will be installed atop the Keyes Road overpass for both northbound and southbound ramps.
Acting on a recommendation by Caltrans, the Stanislaus County Board of Supervisors has approved all-way stop controls at four intersections in the Keyes and Turlock areas.
The four intersections are:
• On the Keyes Road freeway overpass at the northbound ramp;
• South Washington Road at West Harding Road;
• South Walnut Road at West Harding Road.
Caltrans recently conducted traffic safety investigations on the Keyes Road southbound on ramp and found that it met the warrants for an all-way stop. The study determined that five reported crashes in a 12-month period could have been prevented by an all-way stop.
MID launches discounts for customers who charge their electric cars at certain times [The Modesto Bee]
Dec. 14 Owners of electric cars can save on their power bills under a pilot program by the Modesto Irrigation District.
Residential customers will get the discounts if they charge the vehicles at times of relatively low demand, such as weekday nights and entire weekends.
A typical customer could save an average of about $30 a month, said Jimi Netniss, pricing administrator at MID. He was speaking Tuesday, Dec. 8, to the district board, which voted 5-0 for the program.
MID will run the pilot program for three years, starting Jan. 1, and then decide whether the discounts should become permanent. They apply to cars charged at home, not public charging stations.