TULARE COUNTY, Calif. (KSEE/KGPE) – A part of Route 196 just north of Exeter was closed off to traffic on Friday afternoon as severe weather continued to come down in the Central Valley. 

“I’m trying to go home and I cannot right now,” said Lincove resident, Kristen McQuaide. 

McQuaide was one of the many motorists turned away by Tulare County Deputies who shut down part of Route 196 because a part of the road was completely flooded over. 

“The deputy just said he’s not sure when I can get home,” she said. “He said it’s slowing down and they might be able to let us through but he doesn’t really know.”

Several warnings and orders were issued as the day went on and conditions worsened. 

“The storm is coming it’s coming in quick and it’s bringing in a ton of rain with it so really things are changing by the minute they’re rapidly changing,” said Ashley Schwarm, Tulare County Sheriff’s Office, public information officer. 

A few miles down in Porterville, residents there were also dealing with the major effects of the storm. 

“I’m an instructor at Porterville College and I’ve had students that have contacted me and they told me they couldn’t come down from Springville today because the river was washing over Highway 190,” said Joel Wiens. 

Wiens has lived in Porterville for 20 years and said he’s never seen anything like this. 

Officials with the Tulare County Sheriff’s Office continued to update the warnings and evacuations as the storm continued.