First major storm of the season arrives Wednesday
An atmospheric river is producing heavy rain in Northern California Wednesday morning and will slowly track to the southeast, arriving at the Central Coast. In the morning expect to see periods of light to moderate rain before winds pick up and heavy rain appears by lunchtime. A Wind Advisory has been issued by the National Weather Service until 7am Thursday for the San Luis Obispo, Santa Ynez, Santa Barbara and Ventura County Mountains. Winds could gust up to 50mph and downed trees and power lines are possible. Southerly winds help produce more significant amounts of rain through a process called "orographic lifting". This process will allow the atmospheric river to dump a significant amount of rain over an extended period of time, mainly impacting south facing beaches. A Flood Watch is still in effect for the entire region until Thursday morning, heavy rain could cause localized flooding, some rainfall rates are projected to fall at a whopping inch per hour. Temperatures for the day will be a degree or two cooler than Tuesday, highs will struggle to reach into the middle 60s.
Wednesday night into Thursday morning is when the heaviest rain is projected. If you do not need to, it is advised not to travel. Parts of the US 101 may see pooling and it is likely some small roads will need to be shut down. Once the heaviest rain pushes through Thursday morning, the remainder of the day will be light to moderate rain and another dreary day. Winds will start to die down as the storm system exits the area. Temperatures will stay cooler than average and clouds will blanket the region.
We begin to dry out Friday into the holiday weekend. There is a slight chance of lingering showers to impact the region Friday morning but it is likely most of the area will stay dry. Sunny skies and slightly warmer temperatures can be expected by Christmas Eve. Our next round of rain will arrive Tuesday of next week.
