South Valley will continue to see wet, rainy weather as 2022 comes to a close, according to the National Weather Service.
Wednesday, Dec. 28, was a “drying day” after recent storms that soaked the region, with a minimal chance of precipitation from Morgan Hill to San Benito County, according to NWS Meteorologist Brian Garcia. But overnight and into the early morning Thursday, more rain is headed this way.
“Around commute time, Thursday morning (Dec. 29), we’ll get a warm front in the area that will bring widespread light rain across the area,” Garcia said. “That will kind of linger in and around the region for probably a day and a half, maybe two full days.”
This front will bring warmer temperatures, with overnight lows on Friday night forecast in the low to mid 50s.
After that front moves out, another is on its way and projected to hit the Central Coast by early morning Dec. 31, Garcia said. That front will likely move out by 11am Dec. 31, leaving a good chance for clear skies to ring in the new year late at night.
After about another 24-36 hours of dry weather, another front with rain is expected by Jan. 2 from Morgan Hill to Hollister, Garcia continued. A warm front will move in on that day, followed by another cold front by Jan. 3 with temperatures sinking back down to lows in the upper 30s.
Holiday storms that hovered over the region Dec. 26-27 dropped about 1.5 inches of rain on Hollister and Gilroy, according to the NWS website. The same storms dumped about 1.2 inches on the valley floor in Morgan Hill. The rain totals were higher in the mountains, with 1.97 inches recorded at Uvas Reservoir and 3.03 inches at Mount Madonna.
On Dec. 27, San Benito County officials and the NWS issued a flood advisory that lasted into the afternoon due to the expected heavy rains.
According to Morgan Hill resident Chris Henry, who operates the Facebook page “Morgan Hill Rainfall,” the month of December has seen about 9.34 inches of rain on the west side of town. That is nearly double the historical December average of 4.7 inches of rainfall.
