Forecast: Break from rain expected
| Tuesday, Feb 09 2010 01:32 PM
Last Updated Tuesday, Feb 09 2010 06:56 PM
Images
After being married for 58 years, Robert and Dori Chandler, walk hand in hand, across Eye Street during a rainy Tuesday afternoon in Bakersfield.
A jogger cruises along the bike path, on a Tuesday morning, on the back side of Truxtun Lake, as the rains come down.
Area residents should be able to enjoy a respite from the rain for at least a week.
There was a slight chance of rain Wednesday morning, but then no more precipitation is expected through Feb. 16, according to the National Weather Service.
The rain and snow on Tuesday were more of a nuisance than a real hindrance as highways remained open, no serious crashes were reported and earlier estimates of possibly a foot of snow in the Frazier Park area became less likely.
The Grapevine and Frazier Park appeared headed for trouble Tuesday morning with snow falling rapidly, but by the evening roadways were still clear. National Weather Service meteorologist Michael Bingham said snowfall wasn’t expected to stop until early Wednesday morning.
“Just slow down on the Grapevine,” Bingham said early in the day. “This is a pretty good winter storm.”
Average rainfall is slightly above normal by this time of year, with a total of 4.20 inches of precipitation. The average is 3.38 inches, Bingham said.
Bakersfield had received .43 inches of rain by 4 p.m., meteorologist Jim Bagnall said.
The one closure reported as of Tuesday evening was Tehachapi-Willow Springs Road between Highline and Cameron roads, according to the California Highway Patrol.
Bakersfield Police Department spokeswoman Sgt. Mary DeGeare said there had been seven accidents from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m., which was not considered unusually high. There were three accidents during the same time period on Monday, and five on Friday.
Travelers can get the latest road conditions by calling 800-GAS-ROAD.
