BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) — Kern county got plenty of rain Monday, not a sight that is commonly seen in this part of the state. The storm brought heavy rain and winds, including flooding across town.
The rain started in Bakersfield and in the North-West part of the county. Just in the first hour, Bakersfield got about one-tenth of an inch of rain. Shortly after that, a power pole came down with live wires near HWY 166 and closed I-5 but was back open soon. By noon, Bakersfield got nearly .4 of an inch of rain.
Streets were flooding, roads were slick, visibility was low and gusty winds swept through parts of the county.
“With the rain, one more thing is to watch your speed, make sure you slow down. Water on the roadway is going to reduce the amount of friction between your tires and the roadway, so we want to make sure we are slowing down,” said Sergeant Blake Bookout with California Highway Patrol.
Thousands of residents also had power outages throughout the day, nearly 5,000 customers were impacted in Bakersfield around 4 P.M with no-light traffic signals and dark intersections too.
“If you do experience a power outage, we suggest that our customers leave on one lamp or one light so when the power is restored it reduces the potential for a power surge,” said Katie Allen with PG&E.
All in all, it was a day that Kern County will not forget anytime soon.
