[californiadisasters] [EDIS] Flood Warning - San Joaquin Valley/Sierra Foothills

KINGS CA-MARIPOSA CA-KERN CA-TULARE CA-FRESNO CA-MADERA CA-MERCED CA- THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN HANFORD CA HAS ISSUED A * FLOOD WARNING FOR URBAN AREAS AND SMALL STREAMS IN... FRESNO COUNTY IN CENTRAL CALIFORNIA... THIS INCLUDES THE CITIES OF...FRESNO...CLOVIS... WESTERN KERN COUNTY IN CENTRAL CALIFORNIA... THIS INCLUDES THE CITIES OF...DELANO...BAKERSFIELD... KINGS COUNTY IN CENTRAL CALIFORNIA... THIS INCLUDES THE CITY OF HANFORD... SOUTHWESTERN MADERA COUNTY IN CENTRAL CALIFORNIA... THIS INCLUDES THE CITY OF MADERA... WESTERN MARIPOSA COUNTY IN CENTRAL CALIFORNIA... MERCED COUNTY IN CENTRAL CALIFORNIA... THIS INCLUDES THE CITIES OF...MERCED...ATWATER... WESTERN TULARE COUNTY IN CENTRAL CALIFORNIA... THIS INCLUDES THE CITIES OF...VISALIA...TULARE...PORTERVILLE... * UNTIL 1115 AM PST  * AT 109 AM PST CALIFORNIA HIGHWAY PATROL INDICATED THAT HIGHWAY 140 NEAR EL PORTAL HAS BEEN BLOCKED BY LARGE ROCKS IN THE ROADWAY. SEVERAL OTHER REPORTS OF STREET FLOODING NEAR FRESNO HAVE ALSO OCCURRED WITH ROAD CLOSURES. HEAVY RAIN CONTINUES ACROSS THE WARNED AREA WITH AMOUNTS NEAR  FRESNO OF AROUND AN INCH TO NEARLY 1.5 INCHES. LESSER AMOUNTS HAVE OCCURRED FARTHER SOUTH TOWARDS BAKERSFIELD. HOWEVER WITH THE GROUND ALREADY SATURATED...IT WONT TAKE MUCH RAIN TO AGGRAVATE FLOODING ACROSS THE CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY AND SOUTHERN SIERRA FOOTHILLS. DOPPLER RADAR ESTIMATED RAINFALL AMOUNTS ARE AROUND 3 INCHES SO FAR IN THE FOOTHILLS WITH AN INCH OR MORE POSSIBLE OVER THE NEXT FEW HOURS. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... ADDITIONAL RAINFALL AMOUNTS OF 1 TO 2 INCHES ARE POSSIBLE IN THE WARNED AREA. &&

Instruction:
A FLOOD WARNING MEANS THAT FLOODING IS IMMINENT OR HAS BEEN REPORTED. STREAM RISES WILL BE SLOW AND FLASH FLOODING IS NOT EXPECTED. HOWEVER...ALL INTERESTED PARTIES SHOULD TAKE NECESSARY PRECAUTIONS IMMEDIATELY.  MOST FLOOD DEATHS OCCUR IN AUTOMOBILES. NEVER DRIVE YOUR VEHICLE INTO  AREAS WHERE THE WATER COVERS THE ROADWAY. FLOOD WATERS ARE USUALLY  DEEPER THAN THEY APPEAR. JUST ONE FOOT OF FLOWING WATER IS POWERFUL ENOUGH TO SWEEP VEHICLES OFF THE ROAD. WHEN ENCOUNTERING FLOODED ROADS MAKE THE SMART CHOICE...TURN AROUND...DONT DROWN.  BE ESPECIALLY CAUTIOUS AT NIGHT WHEN IT IS HARDER TO RECOGNIZE THE  DANGERS OF FLOODING. IF FLOODING IS OBSERVED ACT QUICKLY. MOVE UP TO  HIGHER GROUND TO ESCAPE FLOOD WATERS. DO NOT STAY IN AREAS SUBJECT TO FLOODING WHEN WATER BEGINS RISING.

Area: NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY CA

Affected Counties or parts of: Tuolumne, Stanislaus, Tulare, Mariposa, Merced, Kings, Kern, Fresno, San Luis Obispo, Madera

Sent: 2010-12-29T01:22:39-08:00

Original Sender: KHNX@nwws.oes.ca.gov

From: NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY CA

__._,_.___

Be sure to check out our Links Section at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/californiadisasters/links
Please join our Discussion Group at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/californiadisasters_discussion/ for topical but extended discussions started here or for less topical but nonetheless relevant messages.

Your email settings: Individual Email|Traditional
Change settings via the Web (Yahoo! ID required)
Change settings via email: Switch delivery to Daily Digest | Switch to Fully Featured
Visit Your Group | Yahoo! Groups Terms of Use | Unsubscribe

__,_._,___