If the weathermen have it right, locals should batten down the
hatches this week in preparation for a major storm, an inch of rain
and gusty winds strong enough to fell trees and possibly leave
residents without power.
Hollister – If the weathermen have it right, locals should batten down the hatches this week in preparation for a major storm, an inch of rain and gusty winds strong enough to fell trees and possibly leave residents without power.
Dave Soroka, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Monterey, said the wicked weather is the result of two air masses of different temperatures colliding.
“It’s a typical winter scenario,” he said Monday. “We’re expecting strong winds and even stronger gusts that could cause scattered power outages and fallen trees.”
Sunday night, after on and off again rains all day, Hollister got about a quarter inch of rain, but Soroka said it’s far from over and predicted winds that could reach up to 30mph.
“Monday afternoon to midnight will be the strongest storm,” he said. “We’ll probably see about an inch of rain.”
The rest of the week won’t be too bright either, Soroka said. He’s predicting showers every day expect Wednesday, and temperatures in the mid to low 50s all week.
And while meteorologists say the storm is typical of this time of year, the Hollister Public Works Department is taking no chances in preparing for it, said Community Services Director Clay Lee.
“We haven’t had any real reportable damage, I’m surprised we haven’t had more,” he said. “There has been some debris in the streets – there will be some street crews out picking up, and we’ll have people on call 24 hours in case something happens overnight.”
An inch of rain in Hollister is fairly significant considering that annual rain fall usually totals only 12 to 13 inches, said Sergio Garcia, an advisor with the University of California Agriculture Extension in Hollister.
“This time of year we like to have small amounts of rainfall,” Garcia said. “If we get it all at once, it can cause erosion.”
But the wet stuff is good news for range land, said local rancher Greg Renz.
“It’s been dry and we’re dependent on rain,” he said. “I’ll believe it when I see it, but an inch of rain would really help us right now.”
Renz and many other ranchers don’t irrigate range land and rely on the rain to grow the grass that feeds their cattle. He said an inch would help, but that even more rain is needed.
