The start of the rainy period is here, and with it have already
come some of the usual seasonal problems. Besides the bad hair days
and the puddles hiding their depth while just waiting to be stepped
in, authorities have noticed that a few more serious issues have
arisen thanks to Tuesday’s storm.
Hollister – The start of the rainy period is here, and with it have already come some of the usual seasonal problems. Besides the bad hair days and the puddles hiding their depth while just waiting to be stepped in, authorities have noticed that a few more serious issues have arisen thanks to Tuesday’s storm.
Fender-benders and minor collisions with guard rails were reported all Tuesday morning on Highway 101, mostly on the stretch of freeway between Gilroy and San Jose, according to CHP officer Matt Ramirez. He said the accidents were mostly the result of people driving too fast on the wet pavement.
“People are still used to driving in the dry weather,” Ramirez said. “They just haven’t made the switch over from the summer driving to the winter driving yet.”
Ramirez said the CHP would be keeping a close eye on Highway 152, although the potentially dangerous road hadn’t had any problems during the storm.
“We usually have some really bad traffic on 152, because it’s only two lanes and people drive too fast. But luckily, we haven’t had any accidents yet,” Ramirez said.
A few accidents have been caused by the storm’s strong winds, though.
A tree branch fell across power lines on Monterey Street between Hazel and Hawkins streets around 10:30 Tuesday morning, knocking live wires to the ground and causing Hollister firefighters and Public Works employees to shut down the portion of the street and turn the power off for a short time. Fire Chief Bill Garringer said multiple tree branches have been breaking all over town, falling on cars and knocking power lines down, which is usual for the first big storm of the year. The Hollister Public Works Department got about 50 calls Tuesday to report fallen trees, according to the PWD’s Charlene Hannibal, and one tree fell on a house on Carousel Drive.
But the storm shouldn’t cause any problems for local crops, according to Agricultural Commissioner Paul Matulich, who said that the only crops still left to be harvested were broccoli and lettuce.
“The rain doesn’t really affect them. All it means is that they will have to wait a few days before they can go back out into the fields and harvest them,” Matulich said. “This is actually a really good time of the year for rain.”
But for those who don’t think there is such a thing as a good time for rain, National Weather Service forecaster Diana Henderson had some refreshing news.
“Right now all this is is a cold-front, associating with a low-pressure system out of Alaska. It came through Sonoma and Marin counties this morning, then headed south through Monterey, and really hit San Benito County around noon,” Henderson said, adding that the storm would continue to move south.
Henderson had reports of .81 inches of rainfall and 44mph winds out of the southeast at around 10:30 out of Southside elementary school Tuesday morning. But for now, nothing too serious, she said. Since the storm is just moving through, it should be clearer for the next few days.
“Right now all we have is an urban and small stream advisory. Basically, people just shouldn’t drive fast through standing water,” Henderson said.
Free Lance staff writer Erin Musgrave contributed to this report.
Jessica Quandt is a staff writer for the Free Lance. Reach her at 831-637-5566 ext. 330 or at [email protected].
