SLO County weather forecast for the week of March 16: Rain, show and gusty winds
After weeks of spring-like weather, a series of cold-weather storms will impact the Central Coast this week.
An intense and cold upper-level low-pressure system (530 decameters) will slowly drift southward down the coast of California on Sunday through Wednesday.
This system will bring gusty southerly winds, widespread rain, heavy mountain snow, and seasonally cold temperatures throughout the Central Coast.
High temperatures will struggle to climb into the upper 50s this week.
Total rainfall amounts from Sunday into Wednesday will range between 2 and 4 inches.
Snow elevations are expected to drop to around 2,500 and 3,000 feet with moderate to heavy snowfall over portions of the Sierra Nevada and Tehachapi Mountains.
The long-range models indicated a brief break in the wet weather around Thursday as this upper-level low-pressure system finally moves away from our region.
Nevertheless, another wet weather system is favored to impact most of California later on Friday into the weekend, potentially bringing another round of widespread and heavy precipitation.
Surf report
A 4- to 6-foot west-northwesterly (285-degree, deep-water) swell (with 5- to 11-second period) is forecast along our coastline on Sunday into Thursday.
Combined with this west-northwesterly (285-degree, deep-water) swell will be 2- to 4-foot southerly (185-degree, shallow-water) seas on Sunday through Thursday.
Increasing southerly seas are forecast on Friday into the weekend.
A high-energy westerly swell may arrive along our coastline on March 22 through March 26.
Arriving from the Southern Hemisphere: A 1- to 2-foot Southern Hemisphere swell (with a 20- to 22-second period) will arrive along our coastline on Sunday, building to 1 to 3 feet (with an 18- to 20-second period) on Monday into Tuesday.
Seawater temperatures will range from 56 and 58 degrees Fahrenheit through Friday.
This week’s temperatures
LOWS AND HIGHS, PASO ROBLES
MON | TUE | WED | THU | FRI | SAT | SUN |
42, 56 | 38, 55 | 35, 58 | 35, 61 | 38, 61 | 39, 60 | 36, 58 |
LOWS AND HIGHS, SAN LUIS OBISPO AND COASTAL VALLEYS
MON | TUE | WED | THU | FRI | SAT | SUN |
48, 56 | 43, 56 | 41, 57 | 41, 60 | 45, 62 | 48, 60 | 45, 59 |
PG&E safety tip
During storms, PG&E’s meteorology team uses its Storm Outage Prediction Model, which incorporates real-time weather forecasts, historic data and system knowledge to show when and where storm impacts will be most severe.
This tool allows PG&E to pre-stage crews and equipment to enable rapid response to storm-related outages.
If outages occur, PG&E crews will safely work around-the-clock to restore power to customers.
Storm safety tips
1. If you see a downed power line, assume it is energized and extremely dangerous.
Do not touch or try to move it—and keep yourself and others away. Call 911 immediately and then notify PG&E at 1-800-743-5002.
2. During a power outage, use battery-operated flashlights, and not candles, due to the risk of fire. If you must use candles, keep them away from drapes, lampshades and small children. Do not leave candles unattended.
3. Customers with generators should make sure they are properly installed by a licensed electrician in a well-ventilated area. Improperly installed generators pose a significant danger to crews working on power lines.
4. If you experience an outage, unplug or turn off all electrical appliances to avoid overloading circuits and to prevent fire hazards when power is restored. Simply leave a single lamp on to alert you when power returns. Turn your appliances back on one at a time when conditions return to normal.
5. For the latest information on power restoration, customers can call PG&E’s outage information line at 1-800-743-5002. Updates are also available through our Electric Outage Map online. Customers can also log-in to their account and sign up to receive outage alerts through email, text or phone.
Visit www.pge.com/stormsafety for more.