Weather News

Video: See the Salinas River flow 2 feet above flood stage through Paso Robles

The Salinas River was wide and muddy as it flowed just south of the Niblick Road Bridge on Jan. 9, 2023 as another atmospheric river storm hit the coast. Paso Robles ordered evacuations on multiple streets along the east side of the river as water levels rose.
The Salinas River was wide and muddy as it flowed just south of the Niblick Road Bridge on Jan. 9, 2023 as another atmospheric river storm hit the coast. Paso Robles ordered evacuations on multiple streets along the east side of the river as water levels rose. dmiddlecamp@thetribunenews.com

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The Salinas River surpassed flood stage Monday, filling to beyond its banks and threatening nearby homes as a severe storm system rolled over San Luis Obispo County.

Click on the video above to watch the waters rush by the Niblick Road bridge. A flash flood warning remains in effect until midnight for SLO County.

Between 2 and 6 inches of rain fell during the storm that began Sunday and lasted through Monday, with up to a foot of rain in the higher terrain, according to the flood warning issued by the National Weather Service.

As of 6:15 p.m. Monday, the Salinas River was at 31.2 feet in Paso Robles — more than 2 feet above flood stage of 29 feet, according to the NWS’s Advanced Hydrologic Prediction Service.

Evacuations were issued for multiple neighborhoods along the Salinas River in Paso Robles on Monday afternoon as the river rose. Those evacuations include Riverbank Lane residents and some residents near Larry Moore Park south of the Walmart shopping center.

To the south of Paso Robles, Santa Margarita Lake (also known as Salinas Reservoir) was overflowing at 108% as of 11:30 a.m. Monday.

The Salinas River flows beneath the Highway 41 bridge beside a homeless camp on Jan. 9, 2023.
The Salinas River flows beneath the Highway 41 bridge beside a homeless camp on Jan. 9, 2023. Joshua Tarica

This story was originally published January 9, 2023 at 7:23 PM.

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David Middlecamp
The Tribune
David Middlecamp is a photojournalist and third-generation Cal Poly graduate who has covered the Central Coast region since the 1980s. A career that began developing and printing black-and-white film now includes an FAA-certified drone pilot license. He also writes the history column “Photos from the Vault.”
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Central Coast Storms

Click on the arrow below to read more on the storms and flooding on the Central Coast.