Ready for rain? Storm headed to SLO County could pack a punch over multiple days
It’s time to dust off those rain boots and umbrellas.
San Luis Obispo County is expecting to see a few inches of rain from an early season storm that’s set to hit California next week.
Following a mostly sunny and warm holiday weekend, the rainfall may begin for San Luis Obispo County residents as early as 10 p.m. Monday, according to the National Weather Service.
Then, the precipitation is expected to strengthen throughout Tuesday and Wednesday with occasionally heavy periods of rain, the Weather Service predicted on Friday. The storm should calm on Thursday, according to the agency’s latest predictions.
“Confidence levels on rain during this period remain very high,” the Weather Service said in a forecast discussion on Friday. “What’s less certain now is the amount of rain.”
Good afternoon!!!
We are still forecasting a return of rain to #SoCal next week (Tue Night-Sat). Here are some graphics, displaying our current thoughts (subject to change).
- High confidence in measurable rain
- Low to moderate confidence in timing and amounts#CAwx #LARain pic.twitter.com/NrCuOkkDW8— NWS Los Angeles (@NWSLosAngeles) November 9, 2023
But even if the storm follows the models predicting the lightest amounts of rainfall, “this would still be a very impressive storm for November,” the Weather Service said.
“To put it into perspective, it’s likely most areas will still easily surpass the average November rain totals in 24 hours or less,” the agency wrote. “But if earlier models end up proving more accurate, most areas will have 3-5 times the average monthly rain totals.”
November is not normally a substantially rainy month for San Luis Obispo County, as December through March are considered peak rain season.
The county typically sees less than 2 inches of rain during the entire month of November, according to historical Weather Service data.
Regardless, the Weather Services notes in its forecast discussion that “it’s certainly still prudent to wrap up any outdoor projects that are rain-sensitive before the middle of next week.”
The rainy conditions will be accompanied by much cooler temperatures than the mid to high 70 degrees many areas of the county are expected to experience over the weekend.
The Weather Service predicts temperatures in the San Luis Obispo area to drop to the high to mid 60s on Monday and Tuesday, to the low 60s on Wednesday and high 50s on Thursday.
The Paso Robles area will only be slightly warmer — with temperatures expected to hit the low 70 degrees on Monday, dropping to the high to mid 60s on Tuesday and Wednesday followed by a day of low 60s on Thursday, according to Weather Service predictions.
Coastal areas can expect even cooler temperatures not surpassing the low 60 degrees all next week, the Weather Service predicts.
