Storm updates: Thunder, lightning hit SLO County as heavy storm sweeps area
Thundering booms could be heard across much of South County on Wednesday evening as the remnants of Tropical Storm Mario swept across Southern California.
The storm brought with it the threat of lightning and flooding and knocked out power to thousands in SLO County as of early Wednesday evening.
Follow along with The Tribune throughout the night as we bring you the latest in storm coverage.
Lightning strikes hit South County
Update, 6 p.m.
Thunderstorms moving through the area unleashed a flurry of lightning strikes across the South County.
According to the My Lightning Tracker app, at least 40 strikes were recorded west of Nipomo and Santa Maria, over the Oceano Dunes and Guadalupe.
More than 2,000 without power due to outage
Update, 5:35 p.m.:
A power outage knocked out electricity to more than 2,100 PG&E customers in the South County on Wednesday evening, just as thunderstorms were moving through the area.
According to PG&Eās outage report map, 2,103 customers in Nipomo lost power just before 5 p.m.
The My Lightning Tracker app showed at least two lightning strikes in the area.
Read more on the outage here: 2,100 PG&E customers lose power in SLO County as thunderstorms move in
Special weather statement issued ahead of ātorrential rainā in Nipomo
Original story:
According to a special weather statement from the National Weather Service issued at 4:53 p.m., a strong thunderstorm was detected on Doppler radar near Nipomo, moving northwest at 10 mph.
āTorrential rainā and localized flooding may start around 5:30 p.m., and residents may see āfrequent cloud-to-ground lightning,ā according to the Weather Service.
Wind gusts up to 40 mph capable of knocking down tree limbs were expected in Santa Maria and Nipomo, according to the Weather Service.
The special weather statement comes on the heels of a flood watch for parts of San Luis Obispo County issued by the Weather Service on Wednesday morning. Lightning was also spotted in other parts of the county.
According to the Weather Service, āflash flooding caused by excessive rainfall is possibleā across much of Southern California and into the Central Coast, including San Luis Obispo County interior valleys and mountains.
Rain rates during the storm could exceed half-an-inch per hour, the Weather Service warned.
This could cause flooding of rivers, creeks, streams and other low-lying and flood-prone locations, according to the alert.
The watch is expected to last through late Thursday night.
Weather forecast shows chance of rain in SLO
Tropical Storm Mario will move moisture to Southern California and the Central Coast late Wednesday through Friday, the National Weather Service said, leading to cooler temperatures and higher chances of thunder and lightning.
As of Tuesday afternoon, the tropical storm was about 700 miles off the coast of Los Angeles, according to Ryan Kittell, meteorologist for the National Weather Service.
The San Luis Obispo area was expected to be cloudy Wednesday morning with mostly sunny conditions later in the day, according to the National Weather Serviceās latest seven-day forecast.
The high temperature was expected to reach 83 degrees, the weather service said.
Cloudy conditions will return Wednesday night with a 20% chance of rain after 11 p.m. The overnight low temperature will be 57 degrees, the weather service said.
A cluster of storm cells was still hovering over the Pacific Ocean as of Wednesday morning, according to a social media post from the National Weather Serviceās Bay Area office.
The agency said it was observing the situation to see if isolated cells began forming over parts of California.
How much rainfall will Paso Robles get?
The Weather Serviceās latest forecast for Paso Robles calls for mostly sunny skies on Wednesday with wind gusts up to 15 mph.
The high temperature will be near 95 degrees, while the low temperature will be around 58 degrees.
Thursday will be mostly cloudy with a 50% chance of rain and thunderstorms and a high of 80 degrees.
The Paso Robles area could get up to a tenth-of-an-inch of rain, the Weather Service said.
There will be a 50% of showers and thunderstorms Thursday night, which will be mostly cloudy with a low near 57 degrees.
More rain is possible Friday with cloudy conditions and a 40% chance of precipitation expected, the forecast said.
The high will be around 80 degrees while the overnight low will dip to 57 degrees.
Sunny weather will return on Saturday with a high of 87 degrees and a low of 56 degrees.
Sunday will be partly sunny with a high of 91 degrees and a low around 60 degrees, the Weather Service said.
This story was originally published September 17, 2025 at 5:28 PM.
