Weekend storm batters Lodi
Strong winds, heavy rain and just a bit of flooding hit the Lodi area as a result of the storm over the weekend.
At least one tree was downed during the storm. Jeff Hood, director of the Parks, Recreation and Cultural Services, reported one tree toppled at Glaves Park.
Lodi Lake Park was among the parks closed during the poor weather conditions.
It was scheduled to reopen later on Wednesday after city staff have a chance to review the park for fallen trees in the Nature Area, any trees or large branches about to fall, or other unsafe conditions.
“Other than that, our basin parks are all closed because they’re doing their primary job of holding storm water until it
can get pumped out. This includes the Beckman and Vinewood dog parks. They will reopen as conditions allow,” Hood said.
Across San Joaquin County, Deputy Public Works Director Mike Selling reported similar conditions.
“We were very fortunate,” he said. “Only one downed tree and some minor flooding. Due to breaks in the rain it wasn’t that bad. We had some nuisance flooding, but none that blocked roads or bridges.”
Three parks in the San Joaquin County system are closed due to safety concerns. Westgate Landing Regional Park, Stillman Magee Regional Park in Clements and the Woodbridge Wilderness area will all remain temporarily closed as storm conditions continue.
Staff monitoring the Woodbridge Dam have lowered it by about three feet to accommodate the rain and increased flows released upstream by the East Bay Municipal Utility District. EBMUD has continued releases of 5,000 cubic feet per second, which is about the most that Woodbridge Dam and the Mokelumne River can accommodate, said Andy Christensen, general manager of the Woodbridge Irrigation District.
“We look at the flows through Lodi Lake,” he said. “We lowered our dam to make sure there is a minimal impact to people upstream, and we will continue to watch water levels in the area. The goal is to keep the levels in Lodi Lake at safe levels.”
In Galt, the self-serve sandbag filling station has run out of sand and bags.
“We had 130 cubic yards of sand and 5,000 sandbags. It was a major run,” said Steve Winkler, public works director for Galt.
Two Galt parks are experiencing some flood conditions, but no streets have closed. City staff have removed a few trees and branches due to the wind. Dry Creek and Nat’s Gulch are both running high, but still within capacity. It usually takes about 24 hours for the runoff to clear, Winkler said.
According to Accuweather Meteorologist Randy Adkins, today heavy rains are expected to be a major factor in the forecast. It will also be fairly windy, and with the heavy rain expected today, flash flooding will be a concern, Adkins said. The rain will began to lighten up this evening and then taper down to a few showers later on at night. Adkins said the time frame for the heavy rain and flooding concerns is expected to be from early to mid morning today into late this afternoon and maybe into the early part of this evening. Adkins warns Lodians to watch for flashflooding because waters could rapidly rise.
Adkins said some lingering showers will remain on Wednesday, but heavy rains are not to be expected.