Flash flood warning, power outages in south SLO County as storm tears through region
Update 7 p.m.:
The flash flood warning for San Luis Obispo County has expired, according to the National Weather Service, since the storm has moved out of the area.
More showers and isolated thunderstorms are still likely tonight, according to the service.
Update 6:45 p.m.:
Eastbound lanes of Highland Drive at Cal Poly will be closed between Santa Rosa Street and California Boulevard due to flooding, Cal Poly Police tweeted around 6:30 p.m.
Update 5:40 p.m.:
About 486 customers are without power in rural Arroyo Grande, in the area of Highway 227, according to the map. The two separate outages in that area began shortly after 5 p.m. and both are expected to be fixed by about 8 p.m.
The cause of the two outages is unknown.
Roughly 493 customers are also still without power south of Oceano along Highway 1, after lightning struck an electrical transformer.
According to PG&E’s outage map, the power outage was reported around 4 p.m. It is expected to be resolved around 7:15 p.m.
Update, 5:30 p.m.:
The National Weather Services has issued a flash flood warning for San Luis Obispo, Arroyo Grande and Nipomo through 6:45 p.m.
According to the weather service, a line of strong thunderstorms along Highway 101 from Arroyo Grande to Pismo Beach have increased the risk of roadway flooding in the area.
CHP’s traffic incident report page showed no fewer than three reports of roadway flooding in the county on Tuesday evening, ranging from Nipomo to San Luis Obispo.
Numerous traffic accidents have also been reported across the county, as well as reports of flooding inside buildings, according to emergency scanner traffic.
Cal Poly Police tweeted that Highland Drive between Mt. Bishop and Santa Rosa Street have “minor street flooding.” Crews are en route to the area.
According to the National Weather Service, Pismo Beach has so far seen almost 2.5 inches of rain with this latest storm system, and Oceano has recorded 2.4 inches.
Update, 4:50 p.m.: Multiple houses are flooding in Oceano at Strand Way and McCarthy Avenue, according to emergency services agencies’ communications on radio scanner traffic late Tuesday.
The National Weather Service says that an automated rain gauge at Oceano reported 1.02 inches of rainfall within the past hour, with 0.55 inches dropping in just 15 minutes.
The agency says that roadway flooding is likely across portions of Highway 1 and Highway 101.
Original story: The National Weather Service issued a flood advisory warning for San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara counties, which will remain in effect until at least 4:30 p.m.
“Flood advisory in effect until 4:30 p.m. for much of SBA/SLO counties,” reads a tweet by the agency Tuesday afternoon. “Heavy showers/thunderstorms observed with brief heavy downpours producing roadway flooding as well as potential for minor mud/debris flows in recent Cave burn area.”
Beginning Monday, a low-pressure system began moving southward along the Central Coast, producing increasing southerly winds and periods of rain throughout the first half of the week.
The NWS earlier issued a significant weather advisory for central San Luis Obispo County for a “line of thunderstorms (that) will be capable of producing dime-size hail, wind gusts to 50 mph, and very heavy downpours,” the agency said in a tweet.
This article will be updated as more information becomes available.
This story was originally published March 10, 2020 at 3:23 PM.
