Several Santa Maria area roadways flooded during storm

SANTA MARIA, Calif. -- This week's rain storm has caused several Santa Maria area roadways to become flooded over the past 24 hours.

Black Road, on the western outskirts of the city, is notorious for flooding during heavy rains. As of 11 a.m. Thursday, it was closed between Highway 166/Main Street and Betteravia Road.

Highway 1 in south San Luis Obispo County, between Division Street and Oso Flaco Road, was flooded early Thursday morning and closed, has since been cleared and is open to traffic.

Standing water can be seen along several rural roadways that cut through agriculture fields between Santa Maria and Guadalupe.

Along Ray Road, water is currently spread across one section between Highway 166 and Sinton Road.

The road remains open even with the water standing across the approximately 100-yard flooded area.

On nearby Bonita School Road, standing water is also flooded across a small section close to the riverbed crossing just south of Division Street.

On the east side of Highway 101, several roadways are also experiencing flooding issues.

Telephone Road, which is prone to flooding during heavy rain, was closed for a time between Betteravia Road and Vineyard Trail Road.

Vineyard Trail Road had pockets of water covering the roadway between Telephone Road and Nicholson Avenue.

On nearby Rosemary Road, the rural roadway also had standing water in a few places between Betteravia Road and Stowell Avenue.

Even with all of the potential hazards on the local roads, the Santa Maria California Highway Patrol office reported very few significant incidents on Thursday.

"We did have a few collisions and a reckless driver that was apprehended, but people seem to be slowing down in the rain and watching for standing water," said CHP Officer Maria Barriga. "We appreciate that the community is stepping up and driving a little more carefully than normal."

After heavy rainfall during overnight hours, the sun poked through the clouds, which created safer driving conditions throughout the area.

"This morning was dry," said Barriga. "The sun was out, which was really nice."

However, with so much water still covering or close to so many different roadways, Barriga added drivers should still be aware of potential hazards.

"You are going to see pooling mostly on the edges of the roadway and if you see standing water, don't go through it because you don't know what's under there or how deep it is," said Barriga. "If you can avoid it and go around in a different direction, do that "