First day of deadly storm left SLO County reeling. And it’s not over yet
The latest winter storm has slammed full force into San Luis Obispo County, causing widespread flooding, power outages, road closures and one confirmed death on Monday.
And there’s more turbulent weather in the forecast.
The storm has brought torrential rains, with Rocky Butte in northwestern San Luis Obispo County received about 7.64 inches of rain over the past day, while Templeton, Camp San Luis Obispo and the mountains west of Atascadero all saw more than 5 inches in the same time period, according to the San Luis Obispo County Public Works Department.
The rain is expected to continue off-and-on through the evening and all day Tuesday, according to the National Weather Service.
Even when the rain eases, residents should be aware of the continued risk of flash flooding, which can occur when no rain is falling as it takes time for water to flow from the mountains and into creeks and rivers.
A flash flood warning remains in effect for San Luis Obispo County until midnight, according to the Weather Service. And a flood watch is in effect until 11 a.m. Tuesday, according to the Weather Service.
“Additional rainfall amounts of 1 to 4 inches are possible,” the Weather Service wrote in its flash flood warning. “Flash flooding is already occurring. This dangerous flash-flooding situation will continue into the early overnight hours.”
The next storm system to flow through the county is expected to bring about 1 to 2 inches of rain, thunderstorms and more windy conditions on Tuesday, the Weather Service predicts.
This “instability in the atmosphere” could produce waterspouts out on the Pacific Ocean and perhaps a tornado on land, said local meteorologist John Lindsey.
The saturated soils also mean more trees could topple in the wind, which is expected to reach gusts of 30 miles per hour on Tuesday, Lindsey noted.
Unusually rainy January likely due to La Niña conditions
Lindsey remarked that Monday’s storm brought “pretty impressive rainfall totals” that caused widespread flooding and disruptions across the Central Coast.
This wild weather hitting the region is likely due to it being the third year of La Niña conditions, Lindsey said.
“There have been La Niña years that produce extraordinary amounts of rain,” Lindsey said.
This year, the La Niña atmospheric phenomenon has created an unusually wavy jet stream that picked up moisture from the subtropics and then dumped several inches of rain on land, according to Woodwell Climate Research Center climate scientist Jennifer Francis in an interview with NPR.
“I’d describe the jet stream and bomb cyclones as a runaway Pacific freight train loaded with moisture,” Francis told NPR.
Although rain is predicted to continue falling throughout Tuesday, it should let up beginning Wednesday, according to the Weather Service.
Cloudy skies will persist on Wednesday and Thursday, but rain may return Friday afternoon, the Weather Service predicts.
It’s likely the rain will continue throughout the holiday weekend and perhaps into early next week, according to the Weather Service.
SLO County rainfall totals
Here are the two-day rainfall totals through 5 p.m. Monday, according to the Weather Service:
- Rocky Butte: 11.03 inches
- Santa Margarita: 8.64 inches
- Nacimiento: 7.88 inches
- Las Tablas: 7.2 inches
- Arroyo Grande: 6.98 inches
- Cal Poly SLO: 6.9 inches
- Santa Margarita Lake: 6.29 inches
- Lopez Lake: 6.19 inches
- Atascadero: 5.12 inches
- Cambria: 4.95 inches
- Los Osos: 4.52 inches
- San Luis Obispo County Airport: 4.22 inches
- Nipomo: 3.65 inches
- Oceano: 3.24 inches
- Shandon: 2.59 inches
- Paso Robles Airport: 2.31 inches
- Carrizo Plain: 0.87 inches
