Storm brings only light rain

Thursday’s light showers brought January’s total rainfall level to 0.67 of an inch and the total since July 1 to 3.25 inches.

As of 5 p.m. Thursday, 0.12 of an inch of rain fell in Porterville, bringing the season’s total to about a third of what “we need to be for the whole year,” according to local weather observer Greg Chadwell.

“Last year at this time we were over five inches so we’re behind last year and we had 1.12 for the month of January last year,” Chadwell said Thursday. “Today’s the 24th, so we still got seven days. It doesn’t take much, it takes one good storm to put us over an inch for the month — easy.”

Cindy Bean, meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Hanford, said the precipitation will not last long.

“A low pressure system is going to gradually move in through tonight [Thursday] through Saturday and another system is going to drop in from the northwest on Sunday and after that, we dry up because high pressure will build up over the area,” she said.

The forecast through Sunday calls for a 40 percent chance of showers tonight; a 30 percent chance of precipitation for Saturday continuing through the night; and a 40 percent chance of showers Sunday and 30 percent Sunday night, according to the NWS.

“Of course, the mountains have a better chance of getting measurable precipitation. By Monday it should be ending, we have a dry forecast for Monday through next Thursday,” Bean said.

Chadwell said all is not lost.

“Usually, anything over an inch in January is pretty good but the last couple of years it’s been kind of light. It goes through these cycles — you just never know what February and March will be like.”