Flood in Merced County, California

Public report of roadway flooding on Canal St. in Merced. Images were posted on Twitter.

A large upper level low pressure system moved eastward across the Pacific Northwest and Northern California on May 4 and 5. This system brought widespread precipitation to our area between the early afternoon of May 4 and the morning of May 5 as moisture pushed southward through central California with much of the Sierra Nevada from Sierra National Park northward picking up between a half inch and an inch of liquid precipitation with several higher elevation SNOTELs picking up an estimated 6 to 12 inches of new snowfall. Much of the San Joaquin Valley north of Kern County received between a quarter and a half inch of rainfall. While snow levels generally remained above 6000 feet for most of the event, elevations as low as 3000 feet received a dusting of snow during the morning of May 5. In addition to the precipitation, this system also brought unseasonably cool temperatures to the area on May 5 and 6 and also produced a period of strong wind gusts across the mountains and deserts in Kern County between the afternoon of May 4 and the early morning of May 6 with several stations measuring gusts exceeding 60 mph.