FRESNO (KMJ) — A massive amount of precipitation has been forecast over the weekend, in what the National Weather Service described as a “one-two punch” of storms.
As much as two inches of rain in the Central Valley, and as much as six feet of snow in the higher elevations of the Sierra Nevada between Yosemite and Kings Canyon, is expected to fall between Friday and Tuesday. Caught between the two, residents in foothill communities have been told to prepare for flash flooding and up to four inches of rain.
“It’s going to pack quite a punch,” said National Weather Service’s Cindy Bean. “It’s going to have some strong winds, especially across the Kern County mountains where gusts could be up to about 70 miles per hour. Strong winds in the valley with gusts up to maybe about 45 miles per hour.”
The Hanford based meteorologist revealed that the series of storms will break for a moment Sunday morning, before continuing Sunday afternoon.
The second system is described as the colder of the two. Snow levels are expected to start around 7000 feet on Friday and fall to below 4000 feet by Monday.
“Heaviest rain more in the Fresno, Madera, Merced County area, where it’s going to be nuts,” added Bean.
Hear the report from KMJ’s Dominic McAndrew as it aired:
