Though the atmospheric river that is triggering landslides and setting rain records in Southern California has delivered only light rain to Fresno and other Valley cities, residents are advised to watch for thunderstorms this evening south of Madera County and heavy snow in the Tulare County section of the Sierra.

“Dangerous cloud-to-ground lightning strikes, intense rainfall rates, and small hail are the primary thunderstorm hazards,” the National Weather Service in Hanford noted in its Tuesday morning forecast discussion.

Funnel cloud in Tulare, CA today from my brothers friend. @NWSHanford pic.twitter.com/UqSKZ2qLWg

— Ashton The Stormchaser (@AshtonHenryWX) February 7, 2024

Fresno received .19 inch of rain Sunday evening through 4 p.m. Monday, and it has an 84% chance of accumulating a half-inch today through Thursday morning, NWS Hanford said.

Meanwhile, the southern Sierra could experience the biggest weathermaker as there’s a greater than 70% probability of 18 inches of snow or more in the Tulare County mountains today through Thursday morning, NWS says.

Related Story:

Dry weather is expected in the Valley this weekend.

City Probabilities for Half Inch of Rain Through Thursday

These are the NWS odds for a half inch or more of rain today through Thursday morning:

• Bakersfield, Porterville  — 96%
• Visalia, Tulare, Delano — 92%
• Hanford — 88%
• Fresno — 84%
• Lemoore — 82%
• Madera — 70%
• Merced — 58%

Tulare County Flood Preparation Measures

Tulare County Fire has self-serve sandbag locations at:

• Kings River – Station 2
• Dinuba – Station 3
• Cutler-Orosi – Station 4
• Alpaugh – Station 9
• Lemon Cove – Station 13
• Three Rivers – Station 14
• Lindsay – Station 15
• West Olive – Station 19
• Doyle Colony – Station 20
• Tulare – Station 25
• Pixley – Station 27
• Earlimart – Station 28

Storms Improve California Water Picture

The UC Berkeley Central Sierra reported Tuesday that the statewide snow water equivalent had improved by 23% in the past week.

An update on where precipitation, snowfall, and #snow water equivalent sits at the lab after the last week of storms. Our nearly 6 feet of snow has bulked things up quite a bit!

Statewide, snow water equivalent has increased by 23% in the last week (52% -> 75%).#CAwx #CAwater pic.twitter.com/JeQ2sMICF8

— UC Berkeley Central Sierra Snow Lab (@UCB_CSSL) February 6, 2024

300 Mudslides in Los Angeles

One of the wettest storms in Southern California history unleashed more than 300 mudslides in the Los Angeles area after dumping more than half the amount of rainfall the city typically gets in a season in just two days, and officials warned Tuesday that the threat hadn’t passed yet.

☔ Do you like to take weather and storm damage photos and videos? pic.twitter.com/vSopSeqaBs

— GV Wire • News (@GVWire) February 5, 2024

Officials expressed relief that the storm hadn’t killed anyone or caused a major catastrophe in Los Angeles so far despite its size and intensity, though three people were killed in Northern California after the storm came ashore over the weekend with strong winds that toppled trees.

Mayor Karen Bass thanked residents for heeding calls to stay off Los Angeles’ roads, and she urged people to continue doing so through the end of Tuesday, when the rain was expected to stop.

“Los Angeles can handle very big challenges. And if we stick together, we will come out so far ahead,” Bass said.

Footage of a man jumped in the flowing water in pursuit of his dog. LAFD Air Ops lowered a rescuer into the water & save 2 lives. #SoCal #SoCalRain #CAwx #AtmosphericRiver #LArain #weather #Flood #Californiastorm #californiaweather #California #USApic.twitter.com/o2j4RK7TT1

— Elite Theory (@Elite_Theory) February 6, 2024

(Associated Press contributed to this report.)