After clear skies, storms to pick up again in Kern this weekend

Jan. 12—Winter storms are expected to return to Kern County this weekend, bringing with them replenishment to our lakes and rivers, but also road closures and advisories against travel.

"So we are seeing the pattern overall continuing this weekend," said Brian Ochs, a meteorologist with the U.S. National Weather Service in Hanford. "Basically, we're still under a trough of low-pressure."

While many Kern residents can expect some dry weather for the remainder of the week, rainfall is expected to resume Saturday morning, and continue until Tuesday, bringing nearly an inch of rain.

"Most of the precipitation will occur in the afternoon and evening, so as far as the valleys are concerned there shouldn't be much more than a quarter-inch of rain on Saturday," Ochs said. "However, in the mountains, we're looking at an inch of rain in the Kernville/Lake Isabella area between Saturday afternoon until later that night, as well as some snow."

Three to six inches of snow is expected in Kernville at elevations of 6,000 feet on Saturday and another one to two inches at 5,000 feet on Sunday, but Ochs said that is subject to change by nighttime.

Tehachapi and Grapevine communities both sit at around 4,000 feet in elevation and don't expect much snowfall, if any.

"I don't see that as an issue coming up at least over the weekend, but it's something we'll continue to monitor," Ochs said.

He did note that Kern County will fare better than its neighbors to the north in terms of flooding, but he advised against any unnecessary travel.

"Yeah, I wouldn't recommend (travel)," Ochs said. "There are still some roads that are closed and if any more rain falls below that 5,000 to 6,000 (feet) level, since the ground is already saturated from heavy rains, we could see more potential for debris flows, rockslides and mudslides as well as flooding in many portions of the San Joaquin Valley."

Several roads in and around Kern have been periodically closed, including parts of Highway 178, which runs through Kern River Canyon and connects to several mountain ranges. Some roads still open to the public may require chains or snow tires, according to an online statement by Caltrans.

"Depending on how much rainfall we get this weekend, we might see closures like what we had Monday and Tuesday," said Christian Lukens, an information officer for Caltrans Distirct 6. "I know we just reopened areas but I think we'll keep a close look and we'll probably see same the routes closed this weekend."

Caltrans previously closed on Monday and Tuesday spots along highways 33, 46 and 166. Most reopened Thursday.

"When we have rainfall like this, we ask travelers to give themselves extra time in their travel, to give vehicles ahead of them extra buffer space and overall, to drive safety," Lukens said.

Even some areas within Bakersfield, such as the Airport Drive underpass outside Highway 99 in Oildale, as well as the Chester Avenue underpass near Garces Circle, were closed by city police due to flooding.

"More rockslides are always a possibility when it rains," Ochs said. "Probably wouldn't want to travel to those higher elevations."

The weather station did note, however, the benefit this above-normal rainfall in some sectors of California has brought much-needed relief to an area that has reported above-average drought levels for quite some time. That said, since grounds are already saturated by previous storms, it doesn't take much to instigate further flooding.

Officials with the forest service released a statement on Wednesday, warning the public against any unnecessary travel to mountainous areas due to "heightened risk of floods, landslides, debris flows from recent fires, snow-covered and slippery roads, trail washouts,and other hazards."

"As intense winter storms continue to batter California, Sequoia National Forest officials remind the public to plan before visiting the forest," said Alicia Embrey, the Forest Public Affairs Officer for the U.S. Forest Service.

"Travel with caution when visiting the forest and be prepared for damage-related travel delays, detours, and road closures."

For a list of roads closed under forest closure order, visit https://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/sequoia/notices. For more information, visit the Caltrans website at https://roads.dot.ca.gov/ or to check local weather conditions, visit the U.S. National Weather Service website at weather.gov.