This story from today’s Bee asks “How wet can we get?” which is the question everyone has on their minds, especially those of us living next to the levees, like your blogger.
The quote that caught my eye was the fact that we are still below the average in rainfall “The 128-year average rainfall for April in downtown Sacramento is 1.41 inches, according to the National Weather Service. Through 5 p.m. Monday, the city received 0.73 inches of April rain.”
This was followed by the statement that the forecast is for 10 days of wet weather.
We should have built it, [the dam] darn it.
Here is an excerpt.
How wet can we get?
Misbehavin' April brings flood alerts, traffic messes, with more on the way.
By Matt Weiser and Tony Bizjak -- Bee Staff WritersPublished 2:15 am PDT Tuesday, April 4, 2006
Sacramento braced for more heavy rain and localized flooding today as a rare series of powerful April storms plowed through the area.
Just three days into the month, the city is already splashing through half its average rainfall for April. With at least another inch of rain expected today, we're on track to beat the average.
It comes on top of the wettest March since 1995. Sacramento got 4.76 inches of rain last month, swamping the historical average of 2.62 inches.
The rainfall brought chaos to the region's roads, including a northbound closure of Interstate 5 during the morning commute and a mudslide that closed eastbound Highway 50 in the mountains.
State officials declared a flood alert Monday and prepared to open the Sacramento Weir to divert rising waters around the city.
A flood warning was issued Monday night on the Cosumnes River at Michigan Bar, near Rancho Murieta, and at McConnell, south of Elk Grove. The National Weather Service also reported levees at Wilton had been topped, and several houses flooded.
A warning also prompted sandbagging in Sacramento's Woodside Condominium neighborhood to avoid a second flooding this season.
Forecasters predict wet weather for the next 10 days, and they're scratching their heads to put a name on the phenomenon. Everybody else is itching for it to end.
"There's definitely something weird going on," said George Cline, a National Weather Service forecaster in Sacramento.
A flood warning was declared Monday on the upper Sacramento River in Tehama County. Downstream areas were likely to reach only "monitor" stage, making levee patrols mandatory.
"We are just keeping a close eye and keeping our fingers crossed," said Jay Punia, chief of the flood operations branch at the state Department of Water Resources.
Punia said the Sacramento Weir may have to be opened for the first time since Dec. 31 to protect Sacramento from rising waters in the American River. Federal officials boosted releases from Folsom Dam to 30,000 cubic feet per second at 3 p.m. Monday, and they may release more.
The Sacramento River was expected to reach an elevation of 27 feet Wednesday night, 6 inches below the weir's trigger point.
