Thursday evening forecast Jan 28th
Rain is continuing through the region Thursday night. The atmospheric river plume will hold together as it moves across the South Coast and Ventura County Thursday, bringing the heaviest rains and winds with it.
The heart of the storm has moved out of the area, but we are expecting rainfall to continue through Friday. It will taper to showers and a chance of thunderstroms with brief heavy downpours. There is a flash flood watch in the western portion of San Luis Obispo County until Thursday at 10:00 pm. There is also a flood advisory for Ventura County until 10:30 Thursday night.
A high surf advisory is in effect on the Central Coast through Friday at 6:00 pm with breaking waves up to 16 feet. Coastal flooding is a concern, especially around Port San Luis. There is also a beach hazards statement on the South Coast and a high surf advisory on the Ventura coast with waves up to 6 or 7 feet, expiring at 10:00 am Friday.
Amounts with this storm have been impressive, and record breaking. As of Thursday evening Rocky Butte has received more than 14.65", Cambria 11.30", San Luis Obispo 8.37", Lompoc 6.44", Solvang 5.27", Goleta 4.76". Smaller amounts have been seen in Santa Maria and Santa Barbara with most locations there between 2-3".
It will also snow above 4,500 feet. Areas above 6,000 feet could see 1 to 3 feet of snowfall. There is a winter storm warning in effect in the Ventura County and Santa Barbara County mountains until noon Friday. Gusts could reach above 65 mph.
The thunderstorms and showers should tapper off by midday on Friday but we still expect cool and mostly cloudy weather for the bulk of the day.
Saturday and Sunday will be fairly quiet as high pressure builds and temperatures rise to near normal. There is unlikely to be more measurable rainfall until Tuesday when a trough quickly moves into the region. Wednesday is looking dry and breezy.
