More rain is coming to SLO County — including a chance of flooding and strong winds

The brief break in the weather is rapidly coming to an end as another storm is expected to hit California this week.

The National Weather Service has predicted several inches of rain could fall over several days in San Luis Obispo County from a storm that’s forecast to hit Friday night and last through at least Tuesday. Central Coast residents could see slight rain Wednesday evening as well.

However, the Weather Service noted in its forecast Wednesday morning that the weather models are showing a wide range of outcomes for the storm — meaning it’s hard to tell quite yet just how much rain the region will get, and when exactly that rain may come.

As of Wednesday morning, it appeared that Saturday will be fairly dry, although some rain could trickle in throughout the day and strengthen in the evening hours.

Sunday morning could be fairly rainy, but there’s a chance skies could clear later that day, the Weather Service said. Monday and Tuesday look to be pretty wet as well, according to the latest forecast.

Some weather models show the bulk of the rain hitting San Luis Obispo County, while others show the rain moving south toward Ventura and Los Angeles counties, according to the Weather Service.

How much rain could fall in SLO County?

It’s likely that the Central Coast could see 2 to 5 inches of rain in the coastal and valley areas, with 5 to 8 inches predicted for the mountains, the Weather Service predicted.

Additionally, San Luis Obispo County could see wind gusts of up to 40 to 50 mph during the peak of the storm.

“Even though rain amounts with this storm may end up lower than the last storm, significant storm related impacts are still expected,” the Weather Service wrote in its forecast. “Streams and small rivers will rise quickly (likely faster than during the past event due to the antecedent rainfall).”

“Trees will be more prone to falling, even with lower wind speeds due to the wet ground, and mud and rocks slides are almost a certainty in the hills and mountains,” the Weather Service wrote.

Sand is available for San Luis Obispo County residents to fill sandbags with at several locations around the county. A full list can be found at ReadySLO.org/storms.