Watch out for falling trees: Strong winds close roads across SLO County
Heads up, drivers — strong winds knocked down trees in at least two separate areas of the county Monday morning, forcing road closures.
According to the San Luis Obispo County Public Works office, Oakglen Avenue between Amado Street and the southern end of the road in Nipomo and the gravel portion of Liveoak Road in Templeton were closed much of Monday due to downed trees.
Strong Santa Lucia winds — from 25 to 38 miles per hour — were forecast for much of the county Sunday night into Monday morning, according to PG&E meteorologist John Lindsey.
Lindsey predicted the winds could gust up to 55 miles per hour in the Estero Bay area, especially along Highway 41 from Morro Bay High School toward Atascadero. Parts of eastern San Luis Obispo — including Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo High School and French Hosptial Medical Center — were also expected to see strong gusts.
According to the National Weather Service, wind gusts topped about 43 miles per hour at the Toro Creek and Port San Luis stations between 5 a.m. and 6 a.m.
Later Monday, Lindsey told The Tribune a wind gust at Diablo Canyon’s meteorological tower hit 62 miles per hour at 7:45 a.m., while the PG&E Whale Rock Reservoir weather station reached sustained winds of 41 miles per hour, and a gust of 55 miles per hour at 11:45 a.m.
Liveoak Road reopened around 12:20 p.m., but as of Monday evening, Amado Street was still closed.
The wind was forecast to die down slightly into Tuesday morning, with winds of between 19 and 31 miles per hour. Similar winds are also expected Tuesday afternoon into Thursday.
This story was originally published January 6, 2020 at 11:05 AM.
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