Storm dumps more than an inch of rain on San Luis Obispo County

A wet weekend across San Luis Obispo County kept residents hopeful of a lingering El Niño.

Thirty-six hour rainfall totals from midnight Friday through noon Sunday include 1.68 inches at the San Luis Obispo County Regional Airport, 1.13 inches in Arroyo Grande, 1.54 inches in Atascadero and 1.34 inches in Paso Robles, according to PG&E meteorologist John Lindsey.

A substantial 4.32 inches was measured at Walter Ranch in Cambria on Santa Rosa Creek Road — the highest recorded rainfall total in the county over the course of the weekend’s rains. A measurement taken at Santa Rosa Creek at Main Street in Cambria read 2.52 inches.

Strong winds and heavy rain caused around 1,500 customers to lose power, said PG&E spokeswoman Ari Vanrenen. The outages began late Saturday afternoon — power was restored by Sunday morning, Vanrenen said. The majority of outages occurred in Atascadero, Cambria, Morro Bay and San Luis Obispo.

PG&E crews are preparing for a second storm to move through Monday on the heels of Saturday night’s storm, Lindsey said. Another round of heavy rain, gale-force southerly winds and a chance of thunderstorms should be accompanied by cooler temperatures. Rain showers are expected to end by Monday night, Lindsey said.

Monday afternoon and night, gale-force northwesterly winds with gusts of up to 55 mph are expected along the coastline. Total rainfall amounts should range between 0.5 and 1.25 inches, according to Lindsey.

Dry, partly cloudy skies with areas of dense fog are expected in the inland valleys Tuesday through Thursday.

A cold front is expected to produce gale-force southerly winds and periods of heavy rain Friday.

For complete rainfall total numbers and more information about the weather forecast, visit www.sanluisobispo.com/weather.

This story was originally published March 6, 2016 at 8:08 PM with the headline "Storm dumps more than an inch of rain on San Luis Obispo County."