Atmospheric river storm struck SLO County, causing flooding and a Salinas River rescue
An atmospheric river storm brought heavy rain and high winds to San Luis Obispo County on Thursday — flooding numerous streets, prompting a rescue of nine people stranded in the middle of the Salinas River and generating powerful gusts in excess of 85 mph.
The National Weather Service issued a flood advisory for San Luis Obispo County on Thursday, while warning of wind gusts up to 60 mph across the county and in the Antelope Valley.
That wind estimate turned out to be overly conservative.
In Cambria — which was expected to see some of the heaviest rain — all schools were closed Thursday due to the storm according to a receptionist at Coast Unified School District.
In total, multiple spots around the county recorded more than 4 inches of rain over the 3-day period, with more than 7 inches falling at Rocky Butte east of Hearst Castle, according to the Weather Service.
That was the highest total of any spot monitored by the Weather Service’s Los Angeles office.
Nearly 6 inches of rain fell at Lake Nacimiento, while 4.47 inches were recorded at Santa Margarita Lake. More than 4.2 inches fell in Atascadero, 3.89 inches fell at Cal Poly and 3.71 inches fell in Arroyo Grande.
9 people stuck in Salinas River rescued
Emergency responders rescued nine people stranded on the Salinas River during the storm on Thursday afternoon.
Paso Robles Fire and Emergency Service received a call at about 4:45 p.m. that five people were stuck on an island in Salinas River and needed to be rescued, Battalion Chief Jay Enns told The Tribune on Thursday night.
Enns said the fire department had been monitoring the level of the river all day and was upstaffed to ensure it was prepared to respond if something did happen.
As of noon, the riverbed was dry, he said. But by the mid-afternoon the water level began to rise “quite a bit.” This trapped several people in the river as the water rose quickly, forcing them to seek shelter on dry islands.
The nine people rescued lived in encampments in the area, where the fire department issued evacuation warnings starting on Monday ahead of the incoming storm.
The agency used its on-hand boat to aid in its rescue, which meant responders and those who were stranded did not have to get in the water, Enns said.
In total nine people were rescued off of two interior islands, he said.
“There are still people remaining out there that didn’t want to be rescued,” he added, “so we’ll continue to monitor that situation as well.”
Avila Beach intersection flooded during storm
An oft-flooded segment of Avila Beach was once again underwater on Thursday, with at least one local property owner concerned about the extent of the flooding.
Vincent Shay, an Avila Beach Airbnb property manager, said he’s used to his property being flooded each winter.
Shay said water started to pool around high tide at 10:30 a.m. Thursday, but didn’t receded as quickly as it did during the previous two years’ winter storms.
He said he hoped the county would clear the drains before flooding worsens.
“The drain actually has a bunch of debris on it — they’re not really coming here cleaning anything,” Shay told The Tribune on Thursday afternoon.
Seattle residents Steven Fetter and Bonnie Kellogg were staying at the Avila La Fonda Hotel just half a block up the hill from the flooding, and said they felt lucky that the garage beneath the hotel did not flood.
Fetter said the flooding rose quickly; when they left for a walk up to the Bob Jones Trail in the morning, the intersection was clear, and when they returned in mid-afternoon, it was underwater.
He added they were disappointed that the Downtown SLO Farmers Market would be closed by the storms.
“We’re on our way to Los Angeles, where our daughter lives, and we come here whenever we get a chance, especially if it’s a Thursday night — I think this Thursday didn’t work out so well,” Fetter said.
Vehicle crashes into water-filled ditch off Highway 101
The storm also brought numerous reports of traffic incidents throughout San Luis Obispo County on Thursday.
In one of the more serious, a car spun-out at northbound Highway 101 and the Higuera Street off-ramp on Thursday afternoon, before getting stuck in a water-and-brush-filled ditch near the road.
According to the California Highway Patrol’s traffic incident page, the vehicle appeared to have been speeding before it traveled off the road and into the water just after 2 p.m.
The vehicle was described as 15 feet off the road in water. Its occupants were out of the car, according to the CHP page.
The CHP shared photos of the crash on its Instagram page Thursday afternoon, urging drivers to slow down on wet roadways.
Meanwhile, there were numerous other traffic hazards reported around San Luis Obispo County on Thursday — including one report of “boulders and a buffalo” in the road on Highway 58 in California Valley.
At 10:54 a.m., a vehicle potentially spun out on northbound Highway 1 near Mainini Ranch Road. The crash did not result in injuries, but there were power lines in the roadway as of 11 a.m., the CHP said.
Flooding closed Salinas Avenue between Eddy Avenue and Hawley Street in Templeton at 11 a.m.
A vehicle traveling north on Highway 101 near the Main Street off-ramp in Templeton “lost control” and drove up the embankment on the roadside at 11:21 a.m., the CHP said. The driver had exited the vehicle and was walking around soon after, witnesses said.
Cypress Mountain Drive was closed between Santa Rosa Creek Road and Klau Mine at 11:23 a.m.
Meanwhile, a vehicle driving north on Highway 101 through Morro Bay hydroplaned and crashed — landing on the roadside at 11:30 a.m. The crash did not result in injuries, the CHP said.
At 11:30 a.m., a rock slide blocked one lane near 4520 Adeladia Road in Templeton, the CHP traffic log said.
The No. 1 lane of southbound Highway 101 on the Cuesta Grade was also briefly closed Thursday afternoon so that crews could remove a tree and branches that were blocking traffic.
According to the California Highway Patrol’s traffic incident page, tree branches were reported in and hanging precariously above the lane just north of the summit around 12:09 p.m.
Thousands of gallons of sewage spill into SLO County creek
About 4,000 gallons of partially treated wastewater mixed with rainwater spilled from a San Luis Obispo treatment facility on Thursday afternoon, prompting a beach closure.
According to the San Luis Obispo County Public Health Department, the sewage mixture began spilling from a treatment facility around 12:40 p.m. “due to the storm surge event.”
The department initially said 50,000 gallons had spilled, but according to deputy city manager Greg Hermann, the initial report was an estimate, and the city was able to get a better number Thursday evening.
The spill was mitigated by 1 p.m., according to the release.
The San Luis Obispo County Environmental Health Services Division advised beachgoers to avoid contact with ocean water at the creek outfall at Avila Beach as a result of the spill.
According to the agency, beach closure advisories have been issued for that area, as well as up-coast and down-coast of the Avila Beach Pier.
Ocean water samples were expected to be taken at these locations Friday, the release said.
Power outage swept across SLO County, impacting traffic lights in SLO
Power outages knocked out electricity to more than 3,000 customers across the county, impacting areas like San Luis Obispo, Morro Bay, Cayucos and Shandon, according to PG&E’s outage map.
One of the large outages knocked out power to much of northeastern San Luis Obispo just before noon.
According to PG&E, roughly 3,491 customers were without electricity from Higuera Street in downtown to north of Foothill Boulevard.
The outage impacted traffic signals “throughout the city,” San Luis Obispo city spokesperson Whitney Szentesi said.
Szentesi said there were also “minor issues with trees down around the city” but that there did not appear to be anything of significant concern.
She added that the Marsh Street Bridge, which had a sign up warning of flooded lanes on Thursday morning, did not fully flood.
Power had been restored to most areas by Friday morning, with a handful of minor outages remaining in Pismo Beach, Morro Bay and San Luis Obispo.
How strong were winds during storm? Gust of 86 mph measured in one SLO County spot
An “incredible gust” of more than 86 mph was measured in San Luis Obispo County during the recent storm.
According to meteorologist John Lindsey, southwestern winds “reached a sustained peak of 49.4 mph, with gusts hitting 71.2 mph at 11:10 a.m.”
That reading was at the PG&E weather station on the Cuesta Grade.
Meanwhile, Mt. Lowe, which is also on the Cuesta Grade, saw a gust of 86.5 mph at 11:20 a.m., Lindsey said.
Thursday came with a handful of other special weather statements as well.
The day started with a flood advisory, warning of potential “minor flooding in low-lying and poor drainage areas,” the forecast said. “Ponding of water in urban or other areas is occurring or is imminent.”
The Weather Service later warned of pea-sized hail and 50 mph winds in Shandon, Creston and Cholame, then issued a similar warning for a swath from Edna to the county’s eastern-most border.
Residents in flood-prone parts of SLO County braced for storm
The potential destructive nature of the storm was well-hyped ahead of Thursday, with numerous local officials warning residents to be prepared for possible major flooding.
In parts of the county that are prone to storm flooding, residents took heed.
Linda Winters has lived at the Silver City West mobile home park in Morro Bay for decades.
The park was built on the edge of Morro Creek, which has flooded six times since she moved there. She said she tries not to worry when it rains.
“I try to just be aware,” she said.
On Tuesday, she warned her neighbors about the potential for flooding, and advised them to move important items off the floor, prepare food and water and prepare to evacuate if needed.
Luckily as of Thursday afternoon, the mobile home park seemed to have escaped any major impacts from the storm.
Local business Well Bean on Main Street is also located in a flood plain down the street from Morro Creek.
They flooded during the last big storm, according to employee Travis Lees, so his employers advised him to place sandbags around the outside of the door to prepare for this storm.
“They were a little skeptical and worried about it,” he said.
Luckily, only a little water seeped in under the door during this first round of rain and he was able to mop it up.
“It wasn’t bad at all,” he said.
In Oceano, though storms rolled through the coast early in the day, skies cleared in the early afternoon.
As of around 2 p.m., the Oceano Lagoon, another area that is prone to flooding, was not full — but water levels did appear to be higher than usual.
Further south, water was flowing in the Arroyo Grande Creek levee as of around 2 p.m., and light rainfall started to pick back up in the area at around 2:45 p.m.
SLO County visitors enjoyed break in storm
Though the North Coast was expected to be hit particularly hard by the storm, as of early Thursday the impacts appeared relatively minor.
A clerk at the Shell gas station in the West Village of Cambria — one of the oft-most flooded places in that area — told The Tribune, “We’re pretty dry!”
State Parks district superintendent Dan Falat told The Tribune there were no impacts at Hearst Castle from the rainstorm other than rearranging some tour routes to keep people out of the rain as much as possible.
Falat added that the lower parking lot at Hearst Beach and the Spooner’s Cove lot were both closed Thursday morning ahead of an expected high tide.
Meanwhile, several out-of-town visitors took the opportunity to check out the coast during a break in the rain Thursday.
Matt Cullis and his dog, Bali, strolled along Morro Strand on Thursday. The UK resident was on a road trip from Canada through the West Coast, and he camped at Williams Hill during the storm yesterday.
“It was very stormy and windy last night,” he said. “I hope as we continue south the weather improves.”
Cullis and his dog enjoyed the view of the coast and the respite from the rain.
“We’ve been inland for the last five months, so this is the first day on the coast which is nice,” he said.
Oceanside resident Marlene Alterio stopped in Morro Bay on Thursday on her way to visit her daughter at UC Davis.
She admired the waves as the crashed into Morro Rock.
“It’s beautiful,” she said. “The weather brings amazing surf, you can’t beat watching the waves.”
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This story was originally published February 13, 2025 at 10:05 AM.
