LINGERING SHOWERS FILTER THROUGH, MORE TO COME
Rain, rinse — rather, drench — repeat.
This week's dose of local showers continued Wednesday morning as the remnants of yet another winter storm filtered through the region, flushing sodden ground with a few more spots of rainfall before a break in storms — note, not an end — sets in for the weekend.
In the wake of a low-pressure system that rapidly intensified through Tuesday afternoon, Monterey County saw anywhere from half an inch of rain in lower elevations to upward of 3 inches over coastal peaks. The highest rainfall region-wide was recorded at Chalk Peak in South Monterey County, where 24-hour totals as of Wednesday afternoon reached 2.71 inches, and White Rock Ridge in Carmel Valley, which reported a similar sum.
While rain came down over much of the county, what really topped charts were winds, though the local cities were spared of their usual one-two, gusty weather turned power outage punch. According to Rick Canepa, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Monterey, wind gusts reached 50-70 miles per hour along southern and central areas of the county. Canepa added that on the Monterey Peninsula, winds of at least 50 mph swept through cities before even stronger winds took aim toward the Santa Cruz Mountains Tuesday afternoon.
“Winds were very strong, as they have been all season, this system included,” said Canepa.
In a moment rare for even this year's water-logged winter, residents of northwestern Monterey County also received a severe thunderstorm warning from the National Weather Service Tuesday afternoon. The warning cautioned excessive tree damage and, in turn, likely power outages, but as the day stretched on, Monterey County seemed — for once — to escape the brunt of damaged power lines.
Though a handful of Pacific, Gas and Electric customers lost power locally, impacts were relatively sparse compared to widespread outages of previous systems. Rather, power outages mounted north of Monterey County, into Santa Cruz and across the Bay Area.
Both wind and rain died down by Wednesday afternoon, leaving only an expected shower or two for Wednesday night, Canepa said. Turning to forecasts up ahead, drier and cooler weather is in line for the latter part of the week into the weekend, according to the National Weather Service.
But the pause in rain will be limited, forecasters say, as yet another Pacific Storm takes aim at California late Monday into Tuesday. Locally, Canepa said next week's system could bring “moderate to heavy rain” to Monterey County.
“Probably at least a couple of inches of rain, maybe a little less in the Salinas Valley, but it depends on how well the overall dynamic of the system develops over the Central Coast,” Canepa said.
Asked how conditions are shaping up for the rest of the month — or rather, is there an end in sight for the state's relentless stream of storms — Canepa said, in short, no. At least, medium to longer-term outlooks are trending in that direction.
Using both six to 10 and eight to 14 day outlooks from the National Weather Service's Climate Prediction Center, Canepa said, “A lot of California and much of the West is forecasted to see below normal temperatures and above normal precipitation through the end of the month into the first week of April.”
“We're looking at a continuation of similar weather conditions with on and off rain,” Canepa continued.
The persistent potential for more rain makes recovery from an already record-breaking winter difficult to manage and push forward without setbacks. That's the case for the community of Pajaro, county officials say, where efforts to return residents back to the town washed out by a failed levee earlier this month continue.
Since the March 11 Pajaro River levee breach, thousands of evacuated residents have been left in limbo, wondering when they can return to home. Meanwhile, various agencies in conjunction with county departments have been assessing the damages and standing health risks that Pajaro sustained during floods, with the goal of pinpointing a day the community at large could safely reenter the area, officials have reiterated in daily press briefings.
At a town hall meeting for those impacted Tuesday night, county officials finally gave a tentative date for reentry: Friday. That day might change, pending weather conditions, but for now, March 24 is when the community of Pajaro could see its weeks-long evacuation order expire.
Still, there's a long way to go in the way of recovery and eventually, repopulation.
If access is granted Friday, orders will be lifted with the intention of allowing residents to assess the damage to their homes and begin the initial process of cleaning residences and businesses — not to stay, officials have emphasized. The county continues to stress that there are health risks to people returning to the Pajaro community, such as mold, rotting food and animals that threaten disease.
“With regards to folks staying in their homes, the county nor the Sheriff's department is going to make people leave (but)… we are advising them strongly and warning them of the potential hazards if their home has been impacted with floodwaters,” county spokesperson Nick Pasculli said as a press conference Wednesday afternoon.
He added that, “We're giving people all the information that we possibly can so they can make decisions for themselves.”
Marni Flagg, health program coordinator for the county Environmental Health Department, likewise explained that, “The homes impacted by floodwaters need to be cleaned out and dried before they're reoccupied.”
Another factor involved in repopulating Pajaro is access to sewer and water, both of which were impacted by floods. Officials said Wednesday that repairs are underway to get sewer lines back up and running in Pajaro by Friday. When the sewage system is deemed operational, water — which has been shut off since floodwaters spilled into Pajaro due to possible contamination — can turn back on.
In the meantime, the county is providing cleaning stations, including portable toilets, handwashing stations, laundry stations and showers that are being moved into Pajaro to support residents as they clear out and assess their homes.
“The County of Monterey is committed to that community period,” Pasculli said Wednesday. “There's no ifs, ands or buts about it. Our commitment is there. We're working feverishly to get the community the resources it needs.”