State nears rain record

Releases increase from Oroville Dam

The main spillway at Oroville Dam will not be used this weekend as the state inches toward the wettest year on record.

California has had about 86 inches of rain since the start of the rainy season in October. The record set between 19921993 is 88.5 inches.

“There is a very good chance we’re going to eclipse that record this week or later next week,” said Craig Shoemaker, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Sacramento.

Despite a projected increase to the state snowpack level and 2 inches of rain in Oroville, Department of Water Resources officials are not planning on opening the main spillway.

As of Friday, the inflow into the reservoir was nearly 40,000 cubic feet per second. The total outflow increased to 13,750 cfs on Friday night, up from 10,350 cfs. Hyatt Powerplant outflow also increased from 9,800 cfs to 13,000 cfs.

“We could see (inflow) drop back down again to something like 14,000 cfs,” said DWR spokeswoman Lauren Bisnett. “So there is a big margin of fluctuation."

She said DWR will continue to monitor the situation as the storm moves through the region.

The storm is expected to extend into Saturday afternoon, according to the Weather Service.

“A lot of this precipitation we’re getting is going to fall in the form of snow for those higher elevations,” Shoemaker said. “This will be adding more to the snowpack.”

Predicted snowfall has resulted in chain controls on Highway 49 over the Yuba Pass, Interstae 80 over Donner Pass, Highway 50 over Echo Summit and Highway 88 over Carson Pass. Motorists should also be aware of wind gusts up to 60 mph, according to a Caltrans release.

“What the main problem is: people thinking they can go 60 miles an hour and tailgating folks,” said Caltrans spokeswoman Liza Whitmore.

She advised people to view the Caltrans website for winter driving tips, which include driving slower, avoiding the use of cruise control and practicing safe driving distances. She said people looking to begin traveling for spring break should wait for the weather to clear before setting out.

“Hopefully people are being smart and thinking about leaving on Saturday,” she said.

Chain controls will stay in effect until Sunday, Whitmore said. Spinouts on summit passes are often the cause for highway closures, she said.

“We’ll have people working 24/7 all around,” she said.

Yuba-Sutter will have the chance to dry out beginning on Sunday before another storm hits the area around Wednesday, Shoemaker said.

“Essentially, at this point in time, we’ve got enough water,” he said. “We want to hold that snowpack into the spring and really as long as we can."