Mudslide, crashes reported as atmospheric river storm soaks SLO County
The heavy atmospheric river slamming parts of California continued to drench San Luis Obispo County over the weekend and into Monday, bringing with it a new storm and widespread rainfall to the region.
Nearly 3 inches already fell in some areas of the county over the weekend, according to the National Weather Service’s 24-hour rain totals.
The storm system was expected to bring periods of on and off rain and gusty south to southwest winds into Wednesday, according to the National Weather Service’s morning forecast. Fairly widespread light to moderate rain was expected focused across the Central Coast.
Temperatures will be six to ten degrees below normal Monday and Tuesday with mostly overcast skies, according to the Weather Service forecast.
The 5Cities Homeless Coalition will open a warming center in south county Monday evening open to overnight guests until Tuesday morning.
The Weather Service warned of wet and slippery roads, increased traffic incidents and wet outdoor weather events in the coming days.
At 7:37 a.m., the Weather Service put a small craft advisory in effect for boats off the shore of SLO County, citing hazardous sea conditions until 3 a.m. Tuesday.
There was up to a 15% chance of lighting and thunderstorms over the Central Coast, especially over the ocean.
Check back for the latest updates on and impacts from Monday’s rainfall.
Fallen trees and branches block SLO County highway
Multiple reports of branches blocking traffic lanes on Highway 41 and one fallen tree came in on Monday afternoon.
Just after 3 p.m., a large tree branch was blocking the majority of the eastbound lane of the highway near Raptor Ridge, according to the California Highway Patrol Traffic Incident Information Page.
The road was cleared shortly after, but CHP received two more calls of traffic hazards in the area within the hour.
At 3:47 p.m., another tree branch was reported downed across the eastbound lane of Highway 41 and a full-sized tree down in the westbound lane of the highway half a mile north of Homestead Road, according to the traffic incident page.
The tree reportedly stuck several feet out into the roadway, causing vehicles to drive into the eastbound lane to get around it, but the impacts on traffic were minimal, according to the page.
3 car crashes back up northbound traffic on Highway 101
A handful of car crashes caused major highway traffic delays in SLO County on Monday.
At 11:41 a.m., two vehicles collided on northbound Highway 101 near the San Ramon Road off ramp, backing up northbound traffic for a stretch between Templeton and Atascadero.
Both cars were blocking one lane of the highway at the time with reports of an additional vehicle in a bush, according to the CHP Traffic Incident Information Page.
As of 12:05 p.m., both lanes were cleared according to the CHP traffic page, but the Caltrans QuickMap showed northbound traffic backed up from the scene of the crash to the San Anselmo Road off ramp.
No injuries were reported from the crash.
At 12:16 p.m., a 26-foot motor home was involved in a crash on the highway just south of the original collision, the CHP traffic page showed.
An ambulance and tow truck were called for front-end damage to the vehicle. It was unclear from reports if other vehicles were involved in the collision.
The second crash occurred near the San Anselmo Road off ramp, within the area of traffic back-up caused by the first collision, according to the traffic map.
Traffic was also backed up on the highway in South County.
At noon, a car went off Highway 101 near Shell Beach, stopping northbound traffic around the Spyglass off ramp, according to the CHP incident page. No injuries were reported from the crash.
Early morning mudslide blocks Highway 41
A small slide scattered rocks and mud onto Highway 41 in San Luis Obispo County on Monday morning.
Just before 8 a.m., California Highway Patrol received reports of rocks in the northbound traffic lane, according to the highway patrol’s Traffic Incident Information Page.
According to a CHP post on X, the slide occurred on northbound Highway 41 just south of the county line. CHP and Caltrans responded to the scene.
As of 8:27 a.m., the roadway was clear, according to the page.
PG&E power outage knocks out electricity in Shandon
Several hundred customers lost power in a small outage along the San Juan Creek, stretching from Highway 58 to Shandon, on Monday morning, according to PG&E’s outage map.
Reported at 7:52 a.m., the outage affected 260 customers at its peak, but has since reduced to 50 customers impacted near Shandon as of 9:40 a.m.
PG&E crews were working to restore power for all customers. That was expected to occur by 2:15 p.m.
Warming center open overnight in Arroyo Grande
The 5Cities Homeless Coalition will open a South County warming center in Arroyo Grande from Monday night to Tuesday morning for adults, children and pets seeking a safe place to find shelter from the storm, the group announced in a news release.
The center, located at 1023 East Grand Ave. across from Mechanics Bank was planned to open from 5:30 p.m. on Monday to 6 a.m. Tuesday, with overnight entry ending at 8 p.m. on Monday, according to the release.
The warming center has an open-door policy — sobriety is not a condition for entry, but drugs and alcohol are not permitted inside, the release said. Guests will be screened for 290 sex crime offenses upon entry. Pets will be accepted with proof of up-to-date vaccinations and licenses.
Those staying the night will be provided a safe, dry place to sleep and a hot meal. Guests who choose to not stay the night will not receive a meal service, nor will anyone who leaves be permitted to re-enter.
The homeless coalition will provide transportation to and from the shelter through Ride On.
On Monday night, shuttles will pick up guests from the following locations, with pick up times varying by 10-15 minutes:
- Pismo Outlet bus stop at 5:35 p.m.
- Fin’s Restaurant at 5:37 p.m.
- Ramona Park at 5:38 p.m.
- Oceano duck pond at 5:40 p.m.
- Arrive at 5CHC Warming Center at 6 p.m.
Shuttles will depart from the warming center at 6 a.m. Tuesday morning and drop-off at the same locations.
Donations of sweatpants and underwear sizes medium to extra-large and men’s socks are needed, as well as volunteers.
The organization is also making a call for volunteers for check-in from 5:30 to 8 p.m. and meal services from 6 to 7 p.m. on Monday, as well as a male volunteer overnight for any hours of availability between 8 p.m. and 8 a.m.
Volunteers must be 18 years or older. Those interested can contact Stephanie LeBlanc by phone at 805-550-8701 or by email at stephanie.leblanc@5CHC.org.
When is rain expected to end? What about Thanksgiving weather?
The brunt of the rain storm will come in the next two days, with San Luis Obispo County seeing generally light to moderate rainfall from Monday night to Wednesday and clearing up by Thanksgiving Day, according to the National Weather Service.
The Weather Service predicted the holiday to be dry in SLO County, with just a 10% to 15% chance of light showers.
Before then, the Weather Service predicted 1 to 3 inches of rain could be expected to fall across Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties, with 4 or more inches likely for the Santa Lucia Mountains, which typically receive more rainfall.
However, there was a 10% chance of it raining up to twice this amount due to the uncertainty of atmospheric river events, the Weather Service said in a post on X.
Temperatures will be below normal in the coming days, the forecast showed.
This story was originally published November 25, 2024 at 9:47 AM.
