Another warm atmospheric river will bring significant rainfall and risk of flooding Tuesday

Another warm atmospheric river is barreling through the region Tuesday. Moderate to heavy rainfall is expected to start in the morning, and last into the evening. Rain rates will be between a half inch and one inch per hour. Rainfall totals are estimated to be between 2 to 5 inches for coasts and valleys, and 4 to 8 inches for foothills and mountains.

There is a flood advisory in effect until 3:15 pm for most of San Luis Obispo County. Another is in effect for both Santa Barbara and Ventura Counties until 4:15 pm. Street flooding and quick, excessive run-off is expected.

There is a flood watch in effect until 10:00 pm Tuesday for San Luis Obispo County, until 5:00 am Wednesday for Santa Barbara County and around Lake Casitas, and from 11:00 am Tuesday until 8:00 am Wednesday for most of Ventura County.

Take special care around rivers and creeks, especially around the Salinas River, Arroyo Grande Creek, Santa Rosa Creek, Sisquoc River, Santa Ynez River, San Antonio Creek, Ventura River, Calleguas Creek, Matilija Creek, and Conego Creek. Mudslides and rock slides are possible, as are several downed trees with saturated soil and strong winds.

There is a high wind warning from 6:00 am to 10:00 pm Tuesday for the Santa Barbara and SLO County mountains, and the SLO interior valleys. Southerly gusts will be 60 to 70 mph. There is a wind advisory for the same time period for the Cuyama, Santa Ynez, and Cuyama Valleys, and the Central Coast. There is also a wind advisory from 6:00 am Tuesday to 5:00 am Wednesday for the northern Ventura County mountains. Advisory gusts will be 50 to 55 mph.

There is a high surf advisory from noon Tuesday to 6:00 am Thursday for the Central Coast, and from 6:00 pm Tuesday until 6:00 am Thursday for the Ventura Coast. Breaking waves will be 7 to 10 feet and 6 to 8 feet respectively. Sea conditions will be extremely hazardous for mariners with steep waves.

This system is again a warm one, so snowfall will stay at high elevations above 8,500 feet. High temperatures will be in the upper 50s to low 60s.

Rainfall will taper off through the overnight hours and scattered showers will linger here and there Wednesday. Temperatures will hardly change.

Expect dry weather, finally, Thursday. Although, there is a slight chance of showers Friday through Sunday. At this point, some models are showing drier weather and others are showing a little measurable rainfall, so we will continue to track that system until our models reach better agreement.