Happy Wednesday morning, Central Coast!
Late Tuesday night the strong atmospheric river that we have been tracking arrived. Overnight heavy rain has caused significant concern prompting flash flood warnings. Before I get into the details, here are a few links I find helpful to have on hand.
- Radar
- PG&E Outage Map
- SoCal Edison Outage Map
- Interactive Rain Totals Map
- CHP Incident Information Page
In storms like this, it is best to have multiple ways to receive storm updates. I recommend our KSBY Microclimate Weather App. It will automatically send a notification if severe weather alerts are in place.
Starting with the flash flood warnings. There are three warnings in place for Santa Barbara County due to the risk for flash flooding caused by all that heavy rain overnight.
Between 1.5" and 5.5" of rain has already fallen in these areas, with several more inches expected this morning.
Let's dive into the details! The strong atmospheric river that we have been tracking moved onshore overnight and will continue to bring significant rain for the next few days.
The rain will begin today with some light showers on the leading edge of the storm. Those showers won't amount to much, but they will be accompanied by the start of strong winds. South/southeast winds 30-50 mph with damaging wind gusts up to 70 mph are expected. The high wind warning is in place from noon Tuesday until 3 p.m. Friday.
The heavy rain is causing active concern for flooding and rock/mudslides.
That danger has put us in the moderate risk (4/5 on the scale) for excessive and problematic rainfall for the South Coast.
Additionally, there is enough rotation (vorticity) in our atmosphere with these storms to create the risk for severe weather. Today and Christmas Day will all have a small chance for weak tornadoes as well as water/land spouts. That risk is small but not out of the question.
Additionally, this storm is riling up our seas. There is a surf advisory in place for all of our beaches through 11 a.m. Saturday. Large breaking waves 10-15 ft and dangerous rip current risk are expected.
By later on this morning, the initial front will have passed, but the storm is still far from over. The storm on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday will all be messy with significant rain and more winds, severe weather threats, and potential flooding.
Here is a look at how much rain we have left in the system.
Here is what all of that looks like on your 7-day forecast!
I hope everyone has a happy and safe Christmas Eve! Stay weather aware, Central Coast!
-Vivian
