Tracking an atmospheric river Thursday and Friday
All eyes are on Thursday and Friday as a wide range of outcomes are on the table. National Weather Service and recent modeling are struggling to encapsulate timing and rainfall amounts with a brewing atmospheric river. If the storm stalls over any particular area, we could see widespread flooding impacts. Current data shows the storm will arrive Thursday midday for northern areas and overnight for Santa Barbara and southward. If you are located in San Luis Obispo and Santa Maria, expect localized flooding on roadways and creeks. Winds in northern areas will be strong to start the morning and lessen as the atmospheric river moves to the south. Wind Advisories go into effect for areas north of Gaviota at 8am Thursday and last through 6pm, wind gusts will near 45mph. Heavy rain arrives overnight in Santa Barbara, but the more impactful storm and rain totals reappear Friday.
Friday midday will be messy for Santa Barbara and Ventura County commuters. Another large wall of moisture arrives around late breakfast for south coastlines and Ventura. This will bring in impressive rainfall totals and rates nearing half an inch per hour. Expect some pooling and ponding along major roadways and low lying creeks and rivers to overflow. Allow for some delays when headed into work or school. Rain totals for this day will rise another inch or two, depending on your microclimate. Most mountainous areas will see rain totals nearing 4-6inches! Flood watches and warnings may need to be issued. If the wall of moisture stalls in ay area, expect rain totals to spike. Grab a jacket as temperatures will rise into the 60s and low 70s.
More rain appears in the forecast Saturday and Sunday. However these will be scattered and spotty showers. Expect thunderstorms to develop and produce fast moving isolated storms. More information to come. Temperatures hold below average for the entire area. Winds remain breezy for the region, use caution when setting up decorations and keep patio furniture locked down!
