Freak summer gully washer is a record buster
Summer? What summer?
A freak storm rolled through Auburn and the foothills Tuesday and Wednesday, dumping record rain on the area.
Rain totals were impressive for any time of year but when they take place on what would normally be a hot day in late June, they take on epic significance.
The National Weather Service had been pointing toward a storm bearing down from Alaska since the weekend and – preordained by a jet stream sending clouds streaming across the sky early in the day – the clouds gathered and the rain started to pound Downtown Auburn around 2 p.m. Tuesday.
Meteorologist Steve Goldstein said Wednesday that sensors at the Auburn Municipal Airport showed readings of 0.97 inches and 0.75 inches by the time the storm let up in the early morning hours.
“There are no records kept for Auburn but it was likely a record,” Goldstein said. “Just about everywhere in the area set records.”
Colfax recorded 0.8 inches of rain while Foresthill had more than an inch, he said. Grass Valley’s rainfall from the storm brought rainfall for the month up to 2.41 inches – the second wettest in records dating back to 1850. The wettest June occurred in 1995, when 2.77 inches was recorded.
Roads were slick during the afternoon commute and well into Wednesday morning but the California Highway Patrol’s Auburn patrol area reported no major injury accidents.
There was one close call, however, when a truck traveling down Highway 49 slid off the road and travelled 70 feet into American River Canyon.
The truck’s driver – 23-year-old Stephanie Haddinncan of Cool – was able to walk away but her vehicle remained in the canyon until it could be hoisted out Wednesday. The truck was crumpled after bashing into several small trees on its downward route but the California Highway Patrol said Haddinncan was uninjured.
In the wake of the rainstorm Wednesday, the Auburn State Recreation Area was attracting a gaggle of sightseers who stood in awe of the whitewater and surging current heading downstream along the Middle and North Forks of the American River at the confluence.
While authorities are advising against taking a plunge with the water running strong and cold, 9-year-old Bailey Diacon bravely stuck her foot in to gauge the temperature.
“It feels like my foot was in a freezer for five days,” Bailey said. “It was cold.”
Bailey was at the confluence for a hike with her great-aunt Royetta Hart of Antelope.
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