Powerful Pacific storm rages through the Central Coast
A powerful Pacific storm rages through the region Wednesday and Thursday with several impacts possible. It will bring periods of moderate to heavy rainfall, gusty Southerly winds, the chance of thunderstorm activity, and potential flooding. This is the second of two storms this week and is the first Atmospheric River of the season.
Projected rainfall totals are high, with two to four inches expected for most of the region, but four to eight inches possible for south facing coastal slopes and foothills. The instability in the system can cause thunderstorms to occur, along with a non-zero chance of water spouts or small tornados for communities south of Point Conception on both Wednesday and Thursday.
This is a slow-moving storm, which means it will park itself over the area and bring several hours of widespread, strong rainfall. The National Weather Service has issued a Flood Watch that will be in effect until 4am Friday morning because of excessive rain within a short period of time. This is in effect for all three counties in the area with the possibility of runoff or flooding of local roadways, creeks, and streams. Another concern is the possibility of debris flow near the South Fire in Ventura County, which is the most recent burn scar in the region. A Flood Advisory will be in effect until 9:45pm Wednesday for San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara Counties.
In addition to the rain, gusty Southerly winds will pick up as soon as the heavier bands of moisture move through the area. A Wind Advisory will be in effect until 7am Thursday for San Luis Obispo County Mountains, Santa Ynez Mountains Eastern Range, Santa Ynez Mountains Western Range, Ventura County Mountains and Santa Barbara County Interior Mountains. Wind speeds will be between 20-30 mph, with gusts up to 50 mph. Isolated gusts up to 60 mph are possible on mountain peaks.
The chance of rain does linger into Friday, but Wednesday and Friday will be the two days with most significant activity possible. The good news is that we're drying out and clearing out by Christmas eve and Christmas Day.
