Mendocino County residents were reminded yesterday of the power of mother nature as waterways swelled up with rain impacting roadways and travel.
Redwood Valley, according to precipitation totals released by the National Weather Service in Eureka, received the most rainfall at 7.37 inches, followed by Willits at 6.68 inches, and then Boonville at 6.68 inches.
The dramatic atmospheric river fell on a drought-stricken region and many residents were thankful for the relief it represented. Lake Mendocino, the primary water reservoir for inland Mendocino County, reportedly saw its inlet, the East Fork of the Russian River, jump from entering the lake at 15 cubic feet/second to 4,100 CFS as the storm saturated waterways. A Facebook post by the Army Corp of Engineers said, “To compare with the drought in 1977, the lake had similar levels to what we experienced this year, and a wet winter in ’77-’78 was able to refill the lake in about two months.”
Rain is predicted in the coming day, as per forecasting from the National Weather Service.
Travel this morning continues to be impacted by the rainstorm. State Route 1 between Point Arena and Manchester has been closed after the Garcia River breached its banks filling the roadway with at least one foot of moving water.
There are reports that Highway 175 east of New Hopland is closed. But, this reporter checked the road at 7:15 a.m. this morning and found it is currently navigable, with the shoulders having significant pooling along the road.
Other traffic incidents that should be noted include a tree is currently blocking the road near the intersection of Road A and East Calpella Road, as per the California Highway Patrol Traffic Incident Information page.
The following are the rainfall totals from around the county:
Redwood Valley 7.37 inches
Willits 6.68 inches
Boonville 6.67 inches
Manchester 6.10 inches
Laytonville 6.02 inches
Potter Valley 5.88 inches
Ukiah (Mendocino College) 5.53 inches
Calpella 5.42 inches
Branscomb 5.34 inches
Dos Rios 5.04 inches
Ukiah Municipal Airport 4.97 inches
Yorkville 4.92 inches
Hopland 4.86 inches
Potter Valley 4.60 inches
Mendocino 4.40 inches
Mendocino Pass 4.30 inches
Bell Valley 4.13 inches
Fort Bragg 4.09 inches
Yorkville 3.76 inches
Covelo 3.59 inches
Leggett 3.40 inches
Mendocino 2.92 inches
Covelo 2.91 inches
Fort Bragg 2.89 inches
Calpella 2.69 inches
Rockport 2.64 inches
Potter Valley 2.41 inches
Seems kind of odd that redwood valley revived 7.37” of rain but nearby potter valley only received 2.42 inches.
Potter Valley is actually listed twice. Once at 4.60 inches and then the 2.42 inches listed at the end of the list. Don’t know which one is correct or if PV received a combination of the two.
Actually higher up is Potter Valley showing a 5.88 in…so 3 PV listings…5.88, 5.6, and 2.41…the new math students, I guess.
How about Gualala?
Tom is correcting the 2nd Potter Valley to a 4.6 not 5.6. So a 5.88, a 4.6,, and a 2.41.