San Joaquin County is currently under flood watch due to high winds, heavy rainfall, and rising rivers.
As of Tuesday morning, Stockton was experiencing gusts of up to 45 mph, and areas in the foothills saw gusts above 60 mph. PG&E reported scattered power outages in Stockton. The county is under flood watch until Wednesday at 10 a.m.
Despite the flood watch, the county’s meteorologist, Eric Kurth, noted a decrease in projected rainfall and a decline in flooding concerns. This is due to the fact that dam operators are not releasing water at high flows, as they had done in anticipation of the storm, and the levee systems have enough room to take in additional rain and snowmelt.
San Joaquin County declared a local emergency on Monday after being added to the state of California’s emergency declaration for several counties, as the area experienced back-to-back atmospheric rivers. The county’s Emergency Operations Center has been on 24-hour operations with increased staffing.
Tiffany Heyer, the county’s director of emergency operations, said flooding concerns are mainly due to residual effects as water continues to flow down river and drain into the valley.
The flood risk on Tuesday was lower than it was during the January storms. However, several county roads are closed due to flooding, and Heyer advised against driving through barricades or flooded areas, as the water may appear shallow or stagnant but could be moving quickly or have hidden potholes.
Overall, the county is cautiously optimistic about the situation, but the director emphasized the importance of closely monitoring river levels and weather forecasts, which have been changing frequently in the past few weeks. For more on this visit The Stockton Record.
