CHICO — The downpour continues over Northern California and doesn’t appear to be leaving until at least the weekend.
Within 24 hours, Chico and surrounding areas got between an inch to an-inch-and-a-half of rain, causing mild flooding near some roadways and up toward Cohasset where parts of the burn scar saw small amounts of erosion Wednesday morning.
Sara Purdue, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service’s Sacramento office, said the storm should last the rest of the week.
“We’re expecting some pretty decent rain through Saturday morning,” Purdue said.
Winds have also picked up in some parts of Butte County, with gusts as high has 50 miles an hour in portions of the foothills.
“Within Chico proper, gusts have only gotten up to 10-13 miles per hour, but just outside of Chico, it’s been anywhere from 24-40 miles per hour,” Purdue said.
The weather service has issued multiple warnings in relation to the storm, particularly pointing toward flooding. Purdue said the primary hazards will likely be waterways and low-lying areas.
“Just keep an eye on the forecast and listen to any information from emergency officials,” Purdue said.
Water marks
What the weather service previously estimated as up to eight inches of rain for the valley area around Chico and Oroville has been raised up to 10 inches through Friday, with surrounding foothill communities like Paradise potentially seeing more.
North in Red Bluff, the forecast shows four to six inches through Friday.
Local authorities had no reports of emergency-level flooding as of 3 p.m. Wednesday, and Lieutenant James Beller with the Butte County Sheriff’s Office said current numbers aren’t showing signs of disaster.
“At this time, (the sheriff’s office) has not issued warnings or orders,” Beller said. “BCSO personnel continue to monitor the waterways in the unincorporated areas of Butte County. As of this morning, the National Weather Service advises this storm system will cause all of the waterways to swell, and we may see some localized flooding in the areas that see flooding every year.
“NWS appears to be fairly confident this storm system will not have an abnormal impact on our waterways.”
Beller said the public should monitor the usual flooding areas, such as River and Ord Ferry roads, and be careful when traveling.
“The public should pay attention to their surroundings (and) heed all road closure signs,” Beller said, noting that drivers will be cited if they ignore these notices. “If you see something, say something — meaning if you see extreme waterflows or flooding, call 911 and report what you see.
“We rely on our public to provide information on flooding or dangerous situations, as they can be the first ones to see something.”
Scott Hightower, assistant director of Operations and Maintenance for Butte County Public Work, said crews are monitoring the storm, particularly in the Park Fire burn scar.
“As of this morning, we have not observed any widespread flooding issues,” Hightower said. “We are starting to see some localized puddling throughout the county.”