Monday’s storm dropped a quarter-inch of rain on Fresno, bringing the seasonal total to 70% of normal.

It’s been a good comeback in precipitation for farmers and others reliant on the ag economy after a bone-dry February.

Reclamation Doubles Friant Allocation to 40%

The good news continued Monday as the Bureau of Reclamation doubled the Central Valley Project water allocation for Friant Division farmers from 20% to 40%.

“The increase will allow Friant contractors to stretch their limited CVP water supplies further into the growing season,” said Michael Jackson, manager of Reclamation’s South-Central California Area Office, in a news release. “At the same time, the increase will reduce energy costs and potential subsidence concerns associated with the over-pumping of the groundwater basin that occurred during the most recent drought.”

More Rain, Snow for the Valley

The National Weather Service Hanford forecast calls for continued unsettled and cool weather today with rain in the lower elevations and snow in the mountains in the southern regions of the San Joaquin Valley.

“Model projected precipitation suggests a good long-lasting soaking rain for the lower elevations and significant snow above 5,500 feet in the mountains,” stated NWS-Hanford on Tuesday morning.

Bass Lake Marina Gets Nearly 9 Inches in 36 Hours

The Sunday-Monday storm produced large amounts of precipitation at mountain locations. The Bass Lake Marina, for example, reported 8.97 inches of precipitation, Kaiser Pass had 4.84 inches, and the rain gauge at Giant Forest captured 3.09 inches over 36 hours ending at 3:53 a.m. Tuesday.

Fresno’s 2019-20 season rainfall stands at 6.95 inches; the season norm through April 6 is 9.97 inches. On average, Fresno receives 11.50 inches annually.

Avalanche Warning Expires at State Border

An avalanche warning expired Monday along the Northern California-Nevada line and chain restrictions were lifted on Interstate 80 and U.S. Highway 50 near Lake Tahoe, where the storm dumped 13 inches of snow at Incline Village. Mammoth Mountain resort south of Yosemite National Park recorded 35 inches of snow.

The Nevada Highway Patrol reported two dozen accidents on slick roads during the Monday morning rush hour in the Reno-Sparks area, where 3-5 inches of snow fell but melted away by afternoon.

Record Rain in Los Angeles

Flash flood watches were posted for a swath of Southern California extending from Orange and San Diego counties eastward and northward across the deserts to the Arizona and Nevada state lines.

Downtown Los Angeles received 1.1 inches of rain Monday, toppling the April 6 record of 0.85 set in 1958.

(Associated Press contributed to this story.)