CHICO — Hints of fall are dropping here and there with this week having the potential for rain and even thunderstorms.
Butte County and surrounding areas could be in for up to .2 inches of rainfall Tuesday night and Wednesday morning, according to the forecast.
Meteorologist Dakari Anderson with the National Weather Service’s Sacramento office said the rainfall is likely to happen over the western part of the Park Fire burn scar, adding that the service is expecting anywhere between a tenth to a fifth of an inch.
“Chances of thunderstorms are between 15-25% Tuesday night through Wednesday afternoon,” Anderson said.
According to graphics issued by the weather service, there is about a 72% chance of scattered showers with the possibility of “brief heavy rain” that could cause flash flooding in areas with heavy debris from recent fires.
Portions of the burn scar saw some precipitation on Sunday when flood and landslide warnings went into effect and were broadcast over the airwaves. Anderson said that while Tuesday night is expected to bring similar conditions, the service hasn’t put out flood warnings yet as the storm will likely be smaller and have less of an impact overall.
A rock slide warning sign stands near part of the Park Fire burn scar along Highway 32 in Butte County, California on Monday, Sept. 16, 2024. (Jake Hutchison/Enterprise-Record)
Anderson said the service is not forecasting snow as a result of the storm but added that thunderstorms can always bring with them a chance of gusty winds and hail.
Later in the week could also bring the chance of thunderstorms on Thursday, a release by the weather service said.
Temperatures are also expected to continue in the 70s through Wednesday before creeping back up into the 80s toward the end of the week. Hotter weather may hit once again starting Monday with temperatures in the 90s, a release by the National Weather Service said.
Lake Oroville
As of 1 p.m. Monday, Lake Oroville has dropped to 799,08 feet, more than 100 feet below its maximum capacity.
For the same day last year, the lake was at 844 feet.
California Department of Water Resources spokesperson Raquel Borrayo said there are no plans to increase outflows from the lake.
“Total downstream Feather River releases are at 9,000 cubic feet per second, which includes 650 cfs through the city of Oroville and 8,350 cfs from the Thermalito Afterbay River Outlet.,” Borrayo said. “DWR continues to assess Feather River releases daily.”
Like the years before, inflows into the lake decreased dramatically throughout the late spring and summer months after the snowmelt concluded.
“Current inflows into Lake Oroville are at approximately 2,500 cubic feet per second,” Borrayo said. “Outflows can vary throughout the day but are currently around 11,500 cfs and include releases needed to meet downstream water quality and flow requirements, water supply deliveries south of the Delta, and local water supply deliveries from the Oroville-Thermalito Complex to the Western and Richvale Canal and Sutter Butte Canal.”
+ There are no comments
Add yours