Much-needed rain to hit Central California

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- Clouds and wind rolled through the Central Valley Tuesday as a set of storms set up to bring in much-needed rainfall.

"We started off getting a decent amount of rain in the first part of winter so November, December and then we got dry in January," ABC30 AM Live meteorologist Christine Gregory said.

Gregory shared that Fresno's rainfall total since October 1 is around two and a half inches below average.

"We really need a good storm to drop at least that much to put us where we need to be for the winter,"" she explained. "There's still time to do it. I don't think these two storms in particular are going to fix everything, but it will certainly help the cause."

The Fresno County Farm Bureau is optimistic the rain will help with that deficit.

"Let it rain, let it snow; it's so important to our valley to help boost those numbers as we get closer to the end of the precipitation season," CEO of the Fresno County Farm Bureau Ryan Jacobsen said.

This week's storms are moving through as some crops have started to blossom.

"We are on the very early side of the blossoms coming out, so fortunately, there shouldn't be any issues with this particular set of storms we're going to see," he explained. "As we go into the next couple of weeks, particularly two to three weeks from now, is when our susceptibility is higher."

Jacobsen adds that a bigger concern for crops would be freezing temperatures after a longer storm.

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