Storm rips Mother Lode

The strong winds and rains that have buffeted Tuolumne and Calaveras counties — causing widespread power outages, downing trees and snarling traffic — are expected to subside by this weekend, but more wet weather is forecast for next week.

High wind gusts and heavy rain caused widespread damage Wednesday, particularly to power lines — affecting thousands of Northern California residents.
  

The sky opened up about 5 p.m. when the worst of the fronts hit the Mother Lode, throwing down hail, lightning and thunder.

“You could probably wash your hair out there,” said Johnny Powell, of the National Weather Service office in Sacramento.

According to Cedar Ridge resident Duane Campbell, the lightning hit with such force that it sounded like an explosion and knocked his television out of service temporarily.

“I have never in my life experienced anything like that,” he said.

Tuolumne County averaged temperatures ranging from lows in the mid-30s to highs in the mid-40s. Different parts of the county received between 1 and 1.5 inches of rain over 24 hours. The total rainfall in Sonora since the weather begin on July 1, 2009, is 14.21 inches, far ahead of the 2009 seasonal total of 9.36 inches of rain.

Copperopolis saw 1.1 inches of rainfall, bringing the season total to 10.38 inches.

Cedar Ridge reported 6 inches of snow. Dodge Ridge Ski Resort reported 10 inches of snow overnight, bringing the 24-hour total to 29 inches. Bear Valley got 9 inches overnight with a total of 21 inches in 24 hours.

According to the NWS, winds in Tuolumne and Calaveras counties peaked at 60 mph gusts and coasted at 15 to 30 mph. Those strong winds along with soil saturated with rainwater have been responsible for trees falling down and knocking out power lines.

Wednesday saw the most powerful storm front in a series of storms that are expected to continue through Friday, according to the NWS.

Precipitation kept to about an inch in most parts of Calaveras and Tuolumne counties as of 4 p.m. Wednesday. According to the NWS, rain and snowfall will pick up again Thursday afternoon as a new storm front moves through.

“There will be a fair bit of snow to Calaveras and Tuolumne counties, but farther north less and less precipitation. You’ll still see periods of heavy rain and snowfall through tomorrow depending on where you are,” said Tom Dang, a spokesperson for the NWS.

San Andreas has seen 2 to 3 inches of rain since the storms began on Monday, while towns farther up the hill have seen up to 4 to 6 inches of precipitation, either rain or snow depending on elevation.

Chains are required at Twain Harte, according to the California Highway Patrol. The NWS predicted that the snow line could fall to 2,500 feet as temperatures Friday will drop to 31 degrees by 10 a.m. in Sonora.

A high pressure system is expected to build up toward the end of the workweek, ending the storms on Friday and leaving Saturday clear, Dang said.

Sunday night is expected to see a new front that will bring a chance of rain through Monday, a slight chance of rain Tuesday and promises partly cloudy skies by Wednesday of next week.

As of this morning, power was restored to thousands of customers across Tuolumne and Calaveras counties, according to the PG&E Web site. PG&E could not be reached for accurate accounting by presstime.

Tuolumne County still had more than 5,000 customers without power, the majority of those concentrated in the Phoenix Lake-Cedar Ridge area. All other towns in the area had fewer than 50 customers without power.

Calaveras County saw the most gains. Fewer than 500 customers in the county are still without power, according to the PG&E Web site.

As of 4:45 p.m. Wednesday, 22,370 PG&E customers across Amador, Calaveras, Tuolumne and parts of Stanislaus counties were without power. That was down from 25,865 approximately three hours before.

All of the changes were seen in Calaveras and Amador counties, which dropped from 12,040 customers without power to 8,455 customers. Tuolumne County and parts of Stanislaus actually increased from 13,825 to 13,915 customers without power.

Much of the increase can be explained by people coming home from work who previously didn’t know their power was out, said Nicole Liebelt, spokesperson for PG&E.

Also, as some problems are fixed, new outages arise, Liebelt said.

The power outages took a toll on local clinics. Family Medical Centers in Valley Springs, Angels Camp and San Andreas lost power Wednesday and closed for the remainder of the day. Patients were directed to the Emergency Department or to 911 if there was an emergency.