SLO County under 4 weather alerts as powerful winter storm moves in
The storms set to hit San Luis Obispo County could cause flash floods, high winds, dangerous surf and coastal flooding, the National Weather Service reported Tuesday in a quartet of alerts.
Much of the county is expected to receive 6 to 10 inches of rain, with 8 to 12 inches possible in the mountains and hills, PG&E meteorologist John Lindsey said in his Tuesday forecast. Winds could reach speeds of 70 mph.
The storm was expected to arrive on the Central Coast late Tuesday and will continue through Thursday.
The National Weather Service projected even higher possible rainfall totals.
“Over the next three days, as much as 10 to 15 inches of rain could fall along the Central California coast roughly between Monterey and Santa Barbara,” the National Weather Service said in a post Tuesday afternoon. “This amount of rain in a 72-hour period is very rare for this region.”
The weather service issued a series of advisories warning of potentially dangerous weather that will remain in effect through the end of the week.
- High surf warning: Issued on Tuesday afternoon, to remain in place through 6 p.m. on Friday
- High wind warning: Starting on Tuesday at 10 p.m., to remain in place through 10 a.m. on Thursday
- Flash flood watch: Starting at 3 a.m. on Wednesday, to remain in place through 10 p.m. on Thursday
- Coastal flood advisory: Starting at 4 a.m. on Wednesday, to remain in place through noon on Thursday
Rain is expected to start falling between 8 and 10 p.m., according to a National Weather Service radar the agency tweeted.
For more information, visit the National Weather Service’s Los Angeles office at weather.gov/lox.
Check back with The Tribune in the coming days for complete coverage of the storm and its impacts on San Luis Obispo County.
This story was originally published January 26, 2021 at 6:36 PM.
