The Central Valley should receive some much-needed rain from two storms scheduled to hit the area this week, the National Weather Service in Hanford reported.

Showers are expected Wednesday night through Thursday and then again over the weekend.

The cumulative rainfall throughout the week is expected to be 1.25 inches in Fresno, more than double the amount received so far in February.

The storms should bring the year’s total precipitation up to around 3.5 inches for the water year, which begins Jan. 1. That’s a mere 45 percent of normal for this time of year, though. The norm is 7.67 inches.

“It’s only bringing us up to half, but it’s a lot better than where we are now for sure. Every little bit’s going to help,” said Jim Dudley, a meteorologist with the weather service.

Due to the dry conditions, most of that water is expected to soak into the ground, Dudley said.

The storm is also expected to contribute anywhere from two feet to 30 inches of snow to the Sierra snowpack.