Get ready for four more days of wind and rain.

The National Weather Service expects four more systems to pelt the Manteca area through Thursday.

Today’s storm is expected to be the worst of the four in terms of the amount of rainfall and the damage that could occur due to anticipated high winds.

The Bay Area commute is expected to be especially treacherous as several inches of rain are forecast in some locales with even heavier precipitation in the higher elevations.

The prospect of high surf, strong winds, and significant rainfall prompted many Bay Area coastal cities to take steps to reduce wave erosion and to distribute sand bags on Sunday.

The prospect of four days with a good amount of rain has prompted Manteca municipal officials to remind residents the numerous neighborhood parks that double as storm retention basins are off limits to personal water craft such as Jet Skis. Every rainy season when storm retention basins back up someone decides it might be fun to put a personal water craft on the impromptu mini lakes and go for a spin. Some caught in the past have been cited for violating municipal noise ordinances.

Manteca has received 4.88 inches of rain as of midnight Saturday in the weather year that started July 1. That compares to 8.51 inches in the weather year ending June 30, 2009, 9.97 inches for the weather year ending June 30, 2008, and 9.93 inches for the weather year ending June 30, 2007. Like most of the rest of California, Manteca’s water needs aren’t fulfilled by rain but by snow melt that either flows into reservoirs and rivers or else seeps into underground aquifers.

During Sunday’s afternoon rain there were several instances of mild flooding where backed up storm drains sending water over sidewalks and into the street in some areas of Central Manteca.

While street crews have worked to clear as many leaves as possible from the streets in the past few weeks, clogged drains can still be an issue.

Simply clearing away debris from the grate and taking it out of the gutter can eliminate most flooding problems. Manteca’s staffing levels for street crews have been reduced due to the budget cutbacks.

The highs for the next four days are expected to be in the mid 50s in Manteca with the lows in the mid-40s. The National Weather Service cautions it will feel more like the mid-30s in the overnight hours with the wind chill factor on Tuesday night making it seem like 31 degrees.

Friday’s forecast calls for cloudy and cool with rain possible. Manteca is expected to return to a rainy pattern Saturday night as well as Sunday with the next series of storms tapering off next Monday afternoon.

A winter storm warning has been issued for the Sierra with high winds and up to eight feet of snow in some spots.