Has SLO County ever had a white Christmas?

A cold Gulf of Alaska storm is forecast to move through the Central Coast on Christmas Day through Thursday, producing gusty southerly winds and heavy rain.

As much as several inches of the wet stuff are expected to fall.

This tempest is expected to drop the snow level to 3,000 feet. That leads to the question, “Have we ever seen a white Christmas in San Luis Obispo or Santa Maria or even measurable snow at other times?”

Well, the answer seems to be “yes” and “no.”

Since 1870, no measurable snowfall has been recorded, according to weather data from our local airports. Snowfall is measurable when there is at least one-tenth of an inch on the ground.

San Luis Obispo and Santa Maria, with their low elevation and mild temperatures, don’t make likely candidates for measurable snow.

Because of the relatively warm ground temperatures, when snow does fall, it quickly melts away.

However, there have been reports of snow and flurries and numerous beautiful photographs of the snow-capped Santa Lucia, San Rafael and Santa Ynez Mountains surrounding these coastal communities throughout the years.

In San Luis Obispo Tribune photographer David Middlecamp’s column, Photos From The Vault, a series of black-and-white photos from 1922 shows snow on the ground in San Luis Obispo. Townsfolk can be seen throwing snowballs.

Judging from the photographs, not more than three-tenths of an inch of snow was on the ground. That probably quickly melted before it could be officially recorded.

Back in January 1949, it was reported that the hills surrounding Santa Maria and Orcutt were covered with several inches of snow. It was said that the Santa Maria Country Club resembled a New England town in winter.

Back in March 2006, a very unusual weather event occurred when a frigid air mass settled southward into Central and Southern California.

An upper-level low-pressure system moved southward over the Central Valley of California. The system was able to pick up enough moisture from the Pacific Ocean to produce thunderstorms and snow levels that reached the sea.

A clap of thunder sounded early March 11, 2006, throughout the county and snow levels dropped to near sea-level.

Joe Higgins, who worked at Diablo Canyon Power Plant on that Saturday morning, phoned me to say that snow was falling along the Pecho Coast. Other weather watchers sent me reports of snow flurries along Highway 101 between Avila Valley and Pismo Beach.

Right after the phone call, I drove out to the power plant, but most of the snow was already gone.

Perhaps the most famous snow event occurred on Dec. 15, 1988, when an intense storm from the eastern part of the Gulf of Alaska combined with a cold, upper-level low-pressure system that moved through Central California from Nevada.

This system produced record amounts of snow in the North County (5 to 8 inches) and Santa Margarita (7 inches). It looked like a winter wonderland in the North County on that day.

San Luis Obispo reported 1.25 inches of rain, sleet and snow flurries with a low temperature of 35 degrees Fahreinheit.

On Feb. 21, 2019, a frigid low-pressure system created low snow levels throughout the Central Coast. This system produced lightning, hail and snow; several inches of snow and hail accumulated in areas of Nipomo.

I was driving home that evening from the PG&E Energy Education Center in Avila Valley to my home in Los Osos.

Along Los Osos Valley Road, the eastern sky turned charcoal black. To the west, the sun was setting and threw its intense light into the squall line.

I pulled over to get a photo of an anticipated colorful rainbow, but to my amazement, all I saw was a descending wall of white. Snow does not usually produce rainbows.

Caltrans warned of “very heavy commute traffic” along Highway 101 due to the unusual weather.

This Christmas week, your best chance to see snow will probably occur on Thursday morning, when snow levels will be at their lowest.

Roads that could be impacted by the low snow levels: Highway 58 east of the California Valley with a summit of 3,528 feet, Highway 166 at Reyes Station summit to Maricopa at 2,968 feet and Highway 33 as it leads into Los Padres National Forest, which crests at 5,000 feet near Pine Mountain.

You could see snow on Highway 101 at the Cuesta Grade at 1,522 feet, but there’s a greater likelihood on Highway 46 on the Antelope Grade at 1,765 feet.

By the way, the highest elevation in San Luis Obispo County is Caliente Mountain at 5,106 feet, northwest of New Cuyama. In Santa Barbara County, it’s Big Pine Mountain at 6,828 feet.

I’ll close with this beautiful story about the December 1988 snow event, sent via email from a reader named Ted: “It snowed on this morning — from Big Sur to Malibu — my son was born in Sierra Vista (Regional Medical Center) at 10:03 a.m. I remember as labor was ending, the doctor commented on the rain and then snow!! And then Jesse was born!”

With that, I wish everybody happy holidays!

PG&E safety tip

Nationwide, firefighters respond to an average of 250 structure fires caused by holiday trees each winter. Statistics show home fires typically increase during winter months.

Remember to water Christmas trees daily, and keep decorations away from heating sources and candles.

Make sure smoke detectors are installed and working. To learn more, please visit www.pge.com.