An atmospheric river system is set to arrive in the Sacramento area Tuesday night into Wednesday, bringing the possibility of heavy rain and gusty winds up to 55 mph.
Forecasters are advising residents to clean out gutters, tie down anything loose outdoors and prepare for possible power outages. Still, the storm isn’t expected to be too much more than the one that rolled through earlier this month.
“I know a couple of the forecasts we had been putting out showed upwards of 2 inches of rainfall near Sacramento, but that has trended downwards and right now we're looking anyway from an inch to an inch and a half in downtown Sacramento,” said Jeffery Wood, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service.
A wind advisory is in effect from 10 a.m. Wednesday through 6 a.m Thursday, with sustained winds of 25 to 35 mph with possible gusts up to 55 mph. A flood watch is in effect from 7 a.m. Wednesday until 4 a.m. Friday.
“This storm is not, I’ll say, rare,” said Carlos Eliason, a spokesperson for the city of Sacramento’s Department of Utilities. “It's not uncommon to have several days of rain and several storms kind of spaced out, especially in January, February, March.”
Although the storm is not predicted to be particularly extreme in the Sacramento region, he says city crews will keep an eye out for localized flooding. In urban areas, he said drains are the primary way that rain enters the city’s drainage system.
Eliason advised residents to check on the drains outside of where they live to ensure that they’re unclogged. Although wind speeds will pick up with the storm, he said fallen trees are not a top concern for the city just yet.
While the storm will bring considerable rain, Sacramento County officials say they’re not expecting anything too unusual. They offer the typical advice: If you live in a low-lying area, be prepared for potential flooding with sandbags. But if you have leftover sandbags from previous storms — like those that hit the region in January of last year — you need to get new ones.
“Sandbags from last year tend to degrade after sitting in the heat of the sun during the summer,” said Matt Robinson, a spokesperson for Sacramento County. “And then when you try to use them again this time around, they're not as strong as before. So we encourage people to just toss the sandbags and get new ones.”
Robinson said people living near streams or creeks should stay alert in case of rising water levels. He also says it’s important to keep debris out of places where water flows, like gutters.
“We want to make sure that the public helps us out … by getting rid of any debris in front of their home, making sure that the water has somewhere to go,” he said.
Sacramento County serves people living in unincorporated areas. Robinson says residents in these areas should visit sacflood.org to see the county’s four locations for sand bag pickup. He also says people living in municipalities, like the city of Sacramento, should check those websites for information on resources.
The city is also opening a respite center at its Outreach and Engagement Center at 3615 Auburn Blvd between Wednesday afternoon and Sunday morning.
The respite center can accommodate up to 50 people, and walk-ups will be accepted. Pets are allowed at the facility, and those visiting will also be offered storage space to store personal belongings.
The county will open a respite center at the Warren E. Thornton Youth Center Gym at 4000 Branch Center Road in Sacramento from Tuesday at 5 p.m. until Monday at 8 a.m. The center can shelter 50 adults. Pets are allowed but are required to be in a crate at all times indoors and leashed outside. Crates will be provided.
Sacramento Regional Transit District is providing free rides to and from the respite centers, passengers must show this flier to fare collectors.
C.J. Felts contributed to this report.
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