Persistent weekend rain led the San Benito County Sheriff’s Department to temporarily close Rocks Road on the west side of San Benito County on Sunday, reported resident Donny Molina. San Juan and Anzar roads were also flooded Sunday evening.
Molina, who since 1971 has lived near Highways 156 and 101 right near the eucalyptus trees along 101, said that during rainy months “it gets really bad sometimes.” He shared with BenitoLink a photo of the flooding near his home.
“The whole road gets really flooded because some stretches of the creek are over-vegetated and the county doesn’t maintain it, so as the rain gets harder the water has no creek to flow in so it overflows onto the road,” Molina said.
The National Weather Service’s river monitoring website reported that the San Benito River at Highway 156 hovered at depths between 3 and 4 feet on Sunday and is predicted to rise to just short of 6 feet by Monday and remain at that flow for the next few days, well below the 13-foot flood stage.
Tres Pinos Creek, which reaches flood stage at 11.6 feet, was flowing at just under 2 feet at 8 p.m. Sunday and was predicted to rise to about 4 feet Monday before leveling off around 2 feet for the next few days.
Hollister had received 1.23 inches of rain from the weekend storm as of 8 p.m. Sunday.Â
The NWS predicts a wet week ahead for San Benito County. Up to a quarter inch of rain is predicted for Monday followed by heavy rain on Tuesday. A chance of showers continues through the end of the week.
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