‘Vigorous’ storm with heavy rains is headed for SLO County. Here’s what’s coming
A new round of wet weather could bring 3 to 8 inches of rain to the Central Coast from Wednesday through March 7, according to PG&E meteorologist John Lindsey.
The next storm will bring “heavy rain on Wednesday morning and afternoon” with lingering rain showers continuing Wednesday night into Thursday morning, ending by Thursday afternoon, Lindsey said.
The first system is expected to drop between a half-inch and 1.5 inches of rain in the county with higher amounts in the Santa Lucia mountains. Snow levels will remain above 5,000 feet.
In anticipation of the upcoming storm, Caltrans announced a Highway 1 closure. The highway was to be closed at Mud Creek and Paul’s Slide starting Tuesday at 5 p.m. until further notice.
A break in the precipitation is expected Friday. before forecasts show heavy rain again on Saturday when a “vigorous low-pressure system will tap into a large plume of subtropical moisture (atmospheric river),” Lindsey said.
That system is expected to bring 2 to 3 inches of rain, with scattered showers expected Sunday.
Status of Highway 1
During the Highway 1 closure, businesses along the Big Sur Coast will remain open and are accessible via Highway 101 and Nacimiento-Fergusson Road.
Work crews are on call and prepared to inspect or clean up on Highway 1 during daylight hours after the storm ends and it’s safe to be on-site again — which is expected to take place Thursday, Caltrans said in a statement.
“Caltrans’ goal is to open the roadway as quickly and safely as possible, and our staff remains on-call 24/7,” Caltrans said.
An update about when Highway 1 will be reopened is expected to take place about midday Thursday, if not sooner, the agency said.
Above-average rain season
Meanwhile, rainfall totals have met or exceeded seasonal averages throughout the county — and some areas have gotten way more rain than normal.
“The ground is saturated,” Lindsey said. “A lot of the rain that falls is going into the creeks, streams and reservoirs. The reservoir totals are rising as well.”
As of Tuesday, Lake Nacimiento was 69 percent filled, Lake Lopez was 49 percent of capacity and Santa Margarita Lake was spilling over with a listed capacity of 100.9 percent, according to the county Public Works Department’s rain and stream real-time data monitoring website.
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