Central California prepares for another storm expected to hit over the weekend

After being pummeled by several vicious storms over the last two weeks, Central California will finally catch a break — but only for a few days.

Forecasts from the National Weather Service show precipitation amounts, if any, will be less than one-tenth of an inch through Thursday; however, a strong storm system is likely to strike around Friday afternoon through Saturday night, with the majority of rain falling Saturday afternoon and evening.

The severe weather is anticipated to last at least through next week.

“We expect these storms to continue at least through the 18th of this month,” Gov. Gavin Newsom said. “The magnitude of this is not isolated in smaller communities. It is scaled across the largest state in our union.”

The state has already been bombarded with rain, floods, mudslides, snow, fallen trees and power outages over the last week following numerous atmospheric rivers. As a result, thousands have been left without power and forced to evacuate. At least 17 people have died.

“California, more intense weather is on the way,” Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office tweeted Tuesday. “These storms are deadly -- be cautious.”

Multiple areas snapped daily records dating back to the early 1900s following the severe weather Monday, according to preliminary information provided by the National Centers for Environmental Information.

For example, Merced received 1.80 inches of rain, an inch above the old record established in 1907. Fresno received 1.53 inches of rain, breaking the city's old record of 0.57 inches, set in 1930. Hanford also broke its 1979 record of 0.82 inches after receiving 1.30 inches of rain.

Large portions of Central California received over half their annual normal precipitation over the past 16 days, according to the National Weather Service. The 24-hour period — from 4 a.m. Monday to 4 a.m. Tuesday — ranks as the third wettest one-day period in California by total grid precipitation since 2005.

Roads throughout Tulare County flooded on Monday and Tuesday, including Orosi, Visalia, Exeter and Tulare. Three Rivers, a community impacted by the KNP Complex fire in 2021, experienced mudslides and was under an evacuation warning until 10 a.m. Wednesday.

"The water levels have started to subside," an update from the Tulare County Sheriff's Department reads. "Stay alert and mindful within that area as another powerful storm is predicted to come through Saturday."

Since Dec. 26, around 955 flood, flash flood, or debris flow reports were logged all throughout California — with some concentrations up and down the coast and Central California — by the National Weather Service.

“Significant flooding and debris flow could threaten communities already saturated with heavy rainfall during these series of winter storms,” National Weather Service Meteorologist Eric Schoening said. The first atmospheric river hit northern California Wednesday and is forecasted to push south into Central California over the weekend.

"A sustained break is coming," Daniel Swain, a climate scientist at the University of California, Los Angeles, said Wednesday afternoon, "but we still have a solid 7-10 days to go first."

USA Today contributed to this report. This article may be updated to reflect the most up-to-date information.

This article originally appeared on Visalia Times-Delta: Central California prepares for another weekend storm