UPDATE (12:49 p.m.) - The National Weather Service has extended a Flash Flood Warning for most of San Luis Obispo County until 7 p.m.
Flash Flood Warning continues for Cambria CA, Lake Nacimiento CA and San Simeon CA until 7:00 PM PST pic.twitter.com/ckDMx5RYfx
— NWS Los Angeles (@NWSLosAngeles) March 10, 2023
Flash Flood Warning continues for San Luis Obispo CA, Atascadero CA and Arroyo Grande CA until 7:00 PM PST pic.twitter.com/8gxv3YSVNk
— NWS Los Angeles (@NWSLosAngeles) March 10, 2023
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UPDATE (8:30 AM): Here is an update on rain totals in the last 24 hours: Arroyo Grande has seen about 2” Templeton 2.46,” Cambria 3.7, ” San Luis Obispo about 2.65,” and Santa Margarita 3.”
The Southcoast is still seeing a couple tenths of an inch. Some of the areas seeing more action include Santa Barbara with 0.64” and Goleta 0.63.”
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UPDATE (7:30 AM): The National Weather Service issued a Flash Flood Warning for the northwestern area of San Luis Obispo County, and it will remain in place until 1 PM.
Flooding has been reported in Cambria where they have received 3” to 6” of rain. Other threatened areas include San Simeon and Lake Nacimiento.
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Good morning Central Coast residents! Rain is dominating the forecast this Friday morning with pockets of heavy rainfall concentrating in the northwestern part of San Luis Obispo County.
Our radar is showing heavier rain in Cambria, San Luis Obispo and Arroyo Grande. However, this model is showing moderate and light rain across both SLO County and Santa Barbara County.
How much rain have we gotten so far? In the last 24 hours, Arroyo Grande has seen about 1.44,” Templeton 1.22,” Cambria nearly 2” and San Luis Obispo about 1.28.”
The Southcoast has only gotten a couple tenths of an inch as this atmospheric river is moving slowly.
Higher resolution models are suggesting rainfall rates between 0.5” and 1” per hour this morning and afternoon.
There is still a slight chance of thunderstorms throughout Friday.
A Flood Watch remains in effect in both San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara Counties until 4 AM on Saturday. There is also an active Flood Advisory, which ends at 7 AM on Friday.
This slow-moving atmospheric river continues to rise concerns over flooding conditions in rivers, creeks and low-lying areas.
Strong southerly winds are another important character in this forecast. There is a High Wind Warning in effect until 3 PM on Friday. You can expect winds of 25 to 40 mph and gusts up to 60 mph especially in the mountains and interior valleys.
Highs are expected to be a little warmer given that this is a warmer system. SLO County beaches and coastal valleys are expecting highs in the 60s despite the rain. SLO County interiors and the Santa Ynez Valley are sticking to mid to upper 50s.
With all this rain impacting California, nearly 27% of the state is out of a drought according to the latest numbers released by the U.S Drought Monitor.
Even better news for the Central Coast, San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara Counties are both drought-free. Just last week, both counties still had a stretch of abnormally dry conditions in the inland areas, so all this rain in recent weeks is helping with our local drought conditions.
This system will start to fade out Saturday with drier conditions taking over at least for a couple of days. We have another chance for a strong storm on Tuesday and Wednesday.
