8 inches of rain fell in one SLO County spot. How much did your area get?
>> Update: SLO County mountains have seen up to 17 inches of rain. Here’s how much your area got
A winter storm hit San Luis Obispo County hard on Wednesday, bringing several inches of rain and flooding.
Folks in Cambria scrambled to sweep water away from storefronts, while people in Avila stayed indoors to avoid flooded intersections.
Mudslides caused roadways to shut down from the Dolan Fire burn scar area all the way down to Santa Margarita.
As Mike Rice, a Cambria resident and landscape business owner, called it, the storm was “insane,” “miserable” and “dangerous.”
And there’s even more rain forecast to fall through Wednesday evening and all day Thursday, according to PG&E meteorologist John Lindsey.
“Oh yeah, we’ll see more,” Lindsey told The Tribune. “But we’re already ahead of schedule for our rainfall totals today, I’ll tell you that.”
Lindsey said the storm will pivot toward the south through Wednesday night, bringing heavier rain to the southern parts of San Luis Obispo County. However, the North Coast — which was hit the hardest on Wednesday — won’t see a respite until Friday, when the rain is supposed to slow to showers, Lindsey said.
Many North Coast areas will likely see over a foot of rain by tomorrow evening, Lindsey said. And South County residents may see several more inches of rain dumped in their yards Thursday morning, he added.
Rocky Butte, which is located just northwest of San Simeon, saw the most rain in the county on Wednesday: more than 8 inches of rain fell there in a 24-hour period ending at 4 p.m., according to the San Luis Obispo County Public Works Department.
Going down the coast, San Simeon saw about 5.55 inches of rain, and Cambria received 5.91 inches of rain in that same time period.
A weather gauge at Lindsey’s house in Baywood Park measured 3.93 inches of rain in the 24-hour period, while the Los Osos Landfill saw 5.39 inches of rain.
Camp San Luis Obispo measured just over 5 inches of rain, Cal Poly received 2.38 inches of rain, and Perfumo Canyon measured just over 6 inches of rain in the 24-hour period ending at 4 p.m. Wednesday.
As you go further south in San Luis Obispo County, the 24-hour rainfall measurements start to drop.
Diablo Canyon measured 2.55 inches of rain, and the Point San Luis Lighthouse measured 2.5 inches in the 24-hour period. From Arroyo Grande to Nipomo, just 0.6 to 1.55 inches of rain were measured in that same time period.
Here’s a map of the 24-hour rainfall accumulations in San Luis Obispo County as of 4 p.m. Wednesday:
Can’t see the map? Click here to view.
And here’s your full list of 24-hour rainfall accumulations as of 4 p.m. Wednesday (in inches):
- Arroyo Grande Creek - 1.55
Atascadero - 1.54
Hog Canyon - 1.73
Lopez Recreation Area - 0.59
Nipomo East - 0.75
Nipomo South - 0.63
Oceano - 0.91
Rocky Butte - 8.07
Salinas Dam - 3.07
Santa Margarita - 2.56
Santa Rosa and Main - 5.91
San Luis Obispo Reservoir - 2
San Simeon - 5.55
Shandon - 0.04
Templeton - 2.48
Hwy. 46 and W 7 Mile Road - 2.76
Morro Toro - 2.36
Los Berros - 0.91
Lopez Dam - 1.45
Upper Lopez - 0.79
The Gas Company - 2.32
South Portal - 2.28
Los Osos Landfill - 5.39
Canet - 3.83
Prefumo Canyon, SLO - 6.08
Diablo Canyon - 2.55
Cal Poly - 2.38
Baywood Park at John Lindsey’s house - 3.93
Morro Bay Yacht Club - 1
Mission College Prep - 2.6
PG&E Energy Education Center - 1.04
Lompoc Airport - 2.37
Santa Ynez Airport - 1.19
Paso Robles Airport - 1.37
Vandenberg Air Force Base - 1.08
Point San Luis Lighthouse - 2.5
Santa Maria Airport - 0.91
Davis Peak - 3
Creston - 0.71
Camp San Luis - 5.04
This story was originally published January 27, 2021 at 6:13 PM.
