Storm updates: Highway 1 closed; SLO airport sees delays and canceled flights during storm

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An atmospheric river storm slammed into California’s Central Coast overnight, bringing with it damaging winds, heavy rain and power outages.

Although rain fell overnight across the Central Coast, heavier rainfall was expected later Sunday and into Monday morning, according to the National Weather Service.

Check back with The Tribune for live updates as the storm progresses through San Luis Obispo County:

SLO airport loses power, running on generator

Update, 8:30 p.m.:

The San Luis Obispo County Regional Airport lost power during the storm Sunday, but travelers don’t have to worry about delays because of that — the airport was running on its generators, Deputy Director Courtney Pene said.

“The terminal is open and fully operational,” she said.

Pene encouraged passengers to check directly with their air carriers before going to the airport for travel during this week’s storm, however.

As of Sunday night, several flights scheduled to arrive at and depart from the San Luis Obispo airport that day had been canceled or delayed, according to the airport’s website — likely due to the inclement weather across the West Coast.

A slew of flights scheduled to depart from the airport on Monday morning were also listed as canceled, though mid-afternoon flights still appeared as scheduled on the website as of Sunday evening.

The canceled flights included the 6 a.m. routes to Los Angeles and Phoenix and the 8:40 a.m. route to Las Vegas.

SLO County rainfall totals for last two days

Update, 6:40 p.m.:

Rain totals over the first two days of the storm varied widely across San Luis Obispo County, according to a National Weather Service update at 6:12 p.m. Sunday.

Rocky Butte had recorded 3.27 inches, while San Luis Obispo only received 0.93 at Broad Street and Industrial Way.

Los Osos was at 2.26 inches, Lopez Lake at 2.01, Santa Margarita at 1.61, Arroyo Grande at 1.41, Cambria at 1.28 and Atascadero at 1.26.

Paso Robles received 1.19, while Shandon was at 0.77 and the Carrizo Plain only totaled 0.21 inches.

Rain total were notably higher farther south. Cachuma Dam in Santa Barbara County recorded 4.94 inches, while Solvang was 4.01 and Santa Barbara received 3.63 inches.

Matilija Canyon in the Ventura County mountains totaled 5.91 inches over the two days.

Flood advisory extended

Update, 5:10 p.m.:

The National Weather Service’s flood advisory for San Luis Obispo County has been extended through midnight.

According to the NWS, “minor flooding is ongoing across the advisory area.” Between 0.5 and 2 inches have fallen across most of the region during the latest storm, the agency said, and an additional 1 to 3 inches are expected tonight.

Some locations that could experience flooding include San Luis Obispo, Paso Robles, Morro Bay, Atascadero, Cambria, Templeton, San Miguel, Cayucos, Lake Nacimiento, Baywood-Los Osos, Shandon, Avila Beach and Shell Beach, according to the advisory.

Flooding closes Highway 1, South County road

Update, 4:45 p.m.:

James Way in Arroyo Grande was closed due to flooding, the city announced Sunday afternoon.

The closure was in effect at James Way and Clinton Court.

A photo of the road showed water pooling across a large portion of the asphalt.

Highway 1 was also closed from south of Oso Flaco Lake Road to three miles north of the San Luis Obispo-Santa Barbara county line due to roadway flooding, Caltrans District 5 tweeted Sunday evening.

There was no estimate for when the highway would reopen.

Turri Road at South Bay Boulevard in Los Osos was also reportedly closed Sunday afternoon, according to CHP’s traffic incident page. Details on why the road was closed were not immediately available.

Person trapped in submerged car near Nipomo rescued

Update, 4 p.m.:

Cal Fire and other emergency units responded to reports of a vehicle submerged in water between Nipomo and Guadalupe on Sunday afternoon.

The call for a water rescue at Guadalupe Road and Division Street came in at 3:49 p.m., according to emergency response app, PulsePoint.

According to emergency scanner traffic, one person was trapped in the stuck vehicle. The person was not injured, according to scanner traffic.

The person was safely removed from the vehicle by 4:15 p.m., according to emergency scanner traffic.

Shelter in place lifted for Arroyo Grande neighborhood

The shelter-in-place order for residents of the Arroyo Grande neighborhood damaged by falling trees and power lines on Sunday morning has been lifted.

The San Luis Obispo County Office of Emergency Services said the order was lifted as of 4:11 p.m.

Access to The Pike was once again open, according to the Office of Emergency Services.

California governor declares state of emergency for storm

Update, 3:30 p.m.:

Gov. Gavin Newsom has proclaimed a State of Emergency for Southern California counties, including San Luis Obispo County, amid the damaging weekend storm.

According to the proclamation, the storm was expected to last for several days, “threatening life and safety, public and private property and structures and other critical infrastructure.”

Flash flood warning issued for southern SLO County

Update, 3 p.m.:

A flash flood warning was issued for parts of southern San Luis Obispo County on Sunday afternoon.

According to the National Weather Service, Doppler radar indicated heavy rain showers were overspreading the area and “flash flooding is ongoing or expected to begin shortly.”

The warning was for San Luis Obispo, Pismo Beach, Arroyo Grande, Grover Beach and Nipomo, as well as parts of northern Santa Barbara County.

According to the warning, additional rainfall amounts of between 1 to 4 inches were possible.

People were urged to be aware of their surroundings and not drive on flooded roads.

2 SLO County beaches closed as boats drift ashore

Two southern San Luis Obispo County beaches were temporarily closed Sunday afternoon due to dangerous conditions, the San Luis Obispo County Office of Emergency Services said on X.

Fisherman’s Beach and Olde Port Beach at Port San Luis Harbor were both closed “due to hazardous surf, rising tide and boats on the beach.”

People were asked to stay away from the beaches until further notice.

National Weather Service issues flood advisory for SLO County

Update, 2:15 p.m.:

A heavy band of rain began moving into San Luis Obispo County on Sunday afternoon, prompting a flood advisory to be issued for the region.

According to the National Weather Service advisory, “flooding caused by excessive rainfall” was expected after Doppler radar indicated rainfall intensity was increasing across the Central Coast.

The NWS said between 0.5 and 1 inches had fallen across the region so far, and that was expected to increase by 1 to 2 inches through early this evening.

The additional rain was expected to result in minor flooding, as well as some potential shallow rockslides and mudslides.

The advisory was in effect through 5 p.m.

The NWS also issued a special marine warning for the waters off Avila Beach down south to Santa Barbara County, warning of winds great than 65 knots and the possibility of waterspouts.

More customers without power in SLO County, PG&E says

Update, 1 p.m.:

The number of people without power in San Luis Obispo County continued to grow on Sunday, reaching nearly 40,000 customers as of 1 p.m., according to PG&E spokesperson Carina Corral.

That included a massive Paso Robles power outage impacting 4,262 customers on the eastern side of the city.

Power outages force businesses to close early

Update, 12:30 p.m.:

With the power out in much of the county, several businesses in Los Osos were forced to close early Sunday.

At Domino’s Pizza, located at 2084 9th St., employees said the power went out around 9:30 a.m. — a concern considering they can’t open the restaurant’s walk-in refrigerator while the power is out without potentially risking its perishable items.

Employee Eric Timmons said they had to turn away a customer who came in just after the power went out asking if they were open.

“I was like, ‘Well, going by the complete darkness in here — no, we are not open,’” Timmons laughed.

General Manager Eric Dean said employees were told the restaurant would temporarily close since it didn’t have power, but they could be asked to return if power came back on during the day.

“Rain days are usually our busiest days, so this really does effect us,” he said.

The pair both noted they had seen damage from the wind throughout the area as they came into work Sunday morning.

More power outages reported

Update, 11:30 a.m.:

Several more weather-related power outages were reported across San Luis Obispo County mid-morning Sunday, bringing the total number of people without electricity to more than 34,000 as of 11:20 a.m., according to PG&E spokesperson Carina Corral.

The new outages include in Cayucos, where 769 customers were without power as of 10:17 a.m., according to PG&E’s outage report map.

Meanwhile, a massive new outage stretched along the South County coast, from Pismo Beach into Oceano, impacting 6,419 customers as of 9:39 a.m.

In Nipomo, about 1,976 customers were also without power as of 9:14 a.m., 1,659 customers were without electricity in Atascadero as of 9:59 a.m., and 708 were without power in Paso Robles as of 11:30 a.m.

PG&E crews were working to restore power.

“PG&E has been preparing for this storm, has a plan, and is executing that plan,” Corral told The Tribune. “Ahead of storms, PG&E stages restoration crews, power poles, powerlines, transformers and other electric equipment at yards throughout our service territory in preparation to restore power to affected areas safely and as quickly as possible.”

Though one of Sunday’s many reported outage areas did appear to include Diablo Canyon, Corral said the nuclear power plant was “not being affected by the weather conditions.”

Corral advised people to be prepared for the high winds to continue; she added customers could visit pge.com/stormsafety for preparedness tips.

Residents ordered to shelter in place as falling eucalyptus trees knock down power poles

Residents in an Arroyo Grande neighborhood were told to shelter in place Sunday morning after high winds knocked down trees and power poles in the area.

The Pike was closed from South Elm to Halcyon Road in Arroyo Grande as of 11:30 a.m. due to downed eucalyptus trees.

PG&E spokesperson Carina Corral told The Tribune a large eucalyptus tree fell through power lines in the area, breaking about 10 power poles.

The downed power poles and lines then blocked homes along that stretch of road between Garfield Place and Gaynfair Terrace. The San Luis Obispo County Office of Emergency Services issued a shelter-in-place order to residents in that area.

As of Sunday at 11:30 a.m., PG&E and Five Cities Fire Authority representatives were telling residents of the homes via loudspeaker to stay inside due to the danger from the power lines.

Corral said the downed lines caused an outage for 6,419 customers. PG&E crews were working to restore power at the scene, as quickly and as safely as possible, she said.

Elsewhere in the county, a number of downed trees, power poles and lines were also causing difficulties.

According to CHP’s traffic page, a broken power pole was leaning in the area of Willow Road and Via Concha Way in Nipomo as of 11 a.m. Cal Fire closed Willow Road as crews responded to the area.

A tree was blocking the lanes of Camino Caballo near Cheyenne Court in Nipomo as of Sunday morning, according to CHP.

Meanwhile, another tree fell and blocked See Canyon Road at Johnny’s Glen Lane in Avila Beach, according to CHP’s traffic page. The person who reported the downed tree said they were stuck in the area because the tree was blocking the only road exit, according to the CHP page.

Original story:

An atmospheric river storm slammed into California’s Central Coast overnight, bringing with it damaging winds, heavy rain and power outages.

The worst of the atmospheric river storm was expected to hit areas south of San Luis Obispo County. In Santa Barbara County, evacuation orders were in effect for those living near wildfire burn scars as of Sunday morning.

San Luis Obispo County was under a flood watch issued by the Weather Service through Tuesday afternoon.

“A very strong and wet storm system will move across Southwest California through Tuesday,” the Weather Service wrote in its flood watch Sunday. “The heaviest rain will fall today through Monday. Rainfall totals of 3 to 6 inches are expected with 6 to 12 inches likely across south and southwest facing foothills and mountains.”

It’s possible rain could fall at rates of 0.5 to 1 inch per hour during the peak of the storm event, the Weather Service warned.

High winds batter SLO County

The county was also under a high wind warning issued by the Weather Service in effect through 6 a.m. Monday.

South to southeast winds of 30 to 50 mph with gusts between 70 to 80 mph were expected, according to the Weather Service.

“People should avoid being outside near large trees and powerlines,” the Weather Service wrote in its high wind warning on Sunday. “If possible, remain indoors and avoid windows. Use extra caution if you must drive.”

According to a post by meteorologist John Lindsey on X, the weather station at the PG&E TV Towers on the Cuesta Grade recorded continuous south winds at 48 mph, with gusts reaching 72 mph.

The Weather Service also issued a hurricane force wind warning for the ocean areas along the Big Sur Coast between Point Pinos in Monterey County to Point Piedras Blancas in northern San Luis Obispo County. Winds there could reach in excess of 60 knots and seas of 17 to 22 feet, according to the Weather Service’s warning.

The Weather Service and West Coast weather forecasters warned that these extremely dangerous winds could cause isolated tornadoes along the Big Sur Coast.

Thousands without power during storm

The San Luis Obispo County Office of Emergency Services said approximately 22,000 people were without power in the county Sunday morning.

The high winds caused several power outages throughout the area, according to PG&E’s outage map.

In the Los Osos and Morro Bay area, the power turned off for about 6,696 PG&E customers at around 7:40 a.m. Sunday. Another 200 customers just east of the two cities also saw power turn off at around 9:30 a.m., according to PG&E’s outage map.

In the Lake Nacimiento area south toward Templeton, about 679 customers had the power cut off at around 9 a.m. Sunday, the outage map showed.

And in the area just north of Arroyo Grande and Grover Beach, about 883 PG&E customers lost power at around 9 a.m. Sunday.

“PG&E has been preparing for this storm, staging crews in the areas expected to receive the most severe storm impacts,” said PG&E spokesperson Carina Corral in an email on Friday.

Fallen trees block roads throughout county

The high winds also knocked down trees throughout San Luis Obispo County.

A tree fell at around 10:30 a.m. on Highway 101 at the Grand Avenue off ramp, blocking a northbound lane, according to the California Highway Patrol.

Another fell on Mary Avenue and Tefft Street in Nipomo, partially blocking a lane, the CHP traffic incident page showed on Sunday morning.

Meanwhile, a large oak tree was down and blocking Price Canyon Road off Spanish Springs Drive, according to CHP.

In Arroyo Grande, crews were working to clear downed cypress and olive trees at Camino Mercado and West Branch Street as of 10:30 a.m.

Arroyo Grande maintenance worker Victor Rocha said teams with the city’s public works department have been out responding to storm issues since 6 a.m.