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Region Sees Series Of Winter Storms
Weather
Rainy weather hit the region this week, with rainfall on several days and a heavy rain in the region on Tuesday, promoting a small stream flood advisory from the National Weather Service. Here at the intersection of First and Main in Escalon, there were some pools of water at the corners reflecting the car headlights. Virginia Still/The Times

Welcome wet weather nevertheless was causing some problems for the San Joaquin Valley area on Tuesday, with rain predicted throughout the day and a small stream flood advisory issued.

Escalon was among the communities getting steady rain that began overnight Monday and continued for much of the day Tuesday, with predictions of rainy weather for the next several days.

According to the National Weather Service, there is a 60 percent chance of showers today, Wednesday, with that percentage dropping to 10 percent but continuing through the end of the week. And while that will help bring some relief to the drought-stricken area, it can also lead to some tough conditions.

Escalon Police were called out early Tuesday when rain played havoc with the railroad crossing signals at McHenry and Highway 120, which in turn caused the highway traffic signals there to become flashing lights instead of the timed signals. Police responded and assisted with traffic control while the railroad light issue was resolved, aiding at the scene for a little more than an hour starting about 6:45 a.m. Tuesday.

Officials also were on the lookout for any localized street flooding, which can be caused when raked leaves clog the storm drains, but were not reporting any significant issues as of press time on Tuesday.

As a reminder, however, city officials reiterated the fall clean up tips, including depositing leaves and yard clippings in green waste cans and not in the street. If the can is full, you can rake leaves in to the street but are asked to keep them away from the gutter and storm drain inlets, making piles about four feet wide and six inches deep.

The city’s street sweeping schedule for fall includes sweeping two times a week, on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Streets northeast of Main Street are done on Tuesdays and streets on the southwest side of Main are done on Wednesdays. Branches, tree limbs and other materials can’t be picked up by the street sweeper, but leaves are acceptable.

With rain that fell during the past week, the Escalon area is just about on pace with a ‘normal’ rainfall year for the season to date, but will need more than the average to help relieve the drought conditions brought on by below normal precipitation the last few years.