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It’s spring but another winter storm is coming
SJ river airport
The San Joaquin River southwest of Manteca at the Airport Way Bridge on January 2017 as water reached the monitoring stage.

Yet another storm is coming.

This time it will hit Monday in the PM with the biggest brunt being on Tuesday before easying off on Wednesday and Thursday.

When all is said and done, the National Weather Service anticipates as much as another inch of rain to fall on Manteca, Ripon, and Lathrop.

Sonora and Yosemite Valley could receive three inches of rain.

The forecast calls for up to 30 more inches of snow on Tioga Pass (Highway 120), 36 inches of more snow on Sonora Pass (Highway 108), and 48 inches of snow on Ebbetts Pass (Highway 4).

But before then the big concern is frost.

The eastern most part of Stanislaus and San Joaquin counites along with the Sacramento Valley faces the prospect of frost with temperatures dipping as low as 28 to 36 degrees through Sunday morning.

That means potential frost damage to early budding fruit trees and vegetation. The Manteca, Ripon, and Lathrop area for the most part is expected to escape the frost.

The low Sunday should dip to 36 degrees before bouncing back to a low of 48 on Monday and then retreating down to 38 degrees on Wednesday during the next storm that could bring snow levels down to as low as 2,500 feet.

As such it means there is a potential for more snow to dust the Altamont Pass and the Diablo Range to the north and the south.

Winds on Tuesday are expected to peak between 25 and 30 mph.

The next storm — arriving a week after spring — will not carry quite as much punch as the 12th atmospheric river to hit California since December that marked the start of the new season.

That said, official warn of possibly more flooding due to saturated ground and the need to keep reservoirs positioned to handle snowmelt. The central Sierra snowpack that feeds the Tuolumne Merced, and Stanislaus watersheds was at almost 240 percent of normal on Friday.

The south Sierra snowpack is at 296 percent of normal for March 24. The southern Sierra’s western slope also drains into the San Joaquin River.

Levees along the San Joaquin River south of Manteca continue to be under flood watch. A number of boils are being monitored as well 24/7.

The water level at the Airport Way bridge at 9:45 p.m. Friday was 29.44 inches. The compares to the highest point in more than five years of 29.8 inches that was recorded on Sunday.

Manteca rainfall since July 1 as of Thursday was 21.77 inches. That is 194 percent of the average for the date which is 11.22 inches.

Rain is now at 162 percent of what the area typically receives between July 1 and June 30.

A year ago, today Manteca was basking in an unseasonably warm 82 degrees as the drought tightened its hold on California for the start of a third year.

The high was 13 degrees above average.

The high is expected to reach 61 degrees today in Manteca. By Tuesday, the high will peak at 54 degrees.

Today the weather is unseasonably cooler with highs averaging 12 degrees below normal.

 

To contact Dennis Wyatt, email dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com