SLO County could see rain, thunderstorms and more big waves this week. Here’s what to expect
San Luis Obispo may have kicked off the new year with a sunny day or two, but that’s not expected to last long.
According to the National Weather Service, rain was expected to return to the Central Coast late Tuesday evening, bringing with it the chance of thunderstorms and a continuance of the large waves that battered the coast last week.
A cold front will move quickly toward the region on Tuesday night, peaking over San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara counties after midnight, according to the Weather Service’s daily forecast discussion.
Thunderstorms will be possible starting early Wednesday morning, the Weather Service said, though rainfall rates will be limited. Most areas will see roughly a quarter inch to three quarters of an inch of rain through the storm, but an inch or more is possible north of Cambria, according to the forecast.
High surf advisory issued for SLO County
The Weather Service has meanwhile extended its high surf advisory from the weekend through to Thursday at 3 p.m., warning of large breaking waves of 10 to 15 feet, with local sets of up to 18 feet at San Luis Obispo County beaches.
The highest surf is expected on west- and northwest-facing beaches.
According to the advisory, there is minimal coastal flooding risk through Thursday, though another potentially more extreme round of high surf is likely late Friday into the weekend.
During that event, tide levels are expected to increase to about 6 feet, increasing the risk of more coastal flooding akin to what the area saw last week, the Weather Service said.
Snow forecast for some parts of Central Coast
The storm will also drop snow levels to “the lowest snow levels of the season,” at about 4,500 to 5,000 feet on early Wednesday, according to the forecast. Those could drop even lower later in the afternoon and overnight, falling to about 4,000 feet.
San Luis Obispo County likely wouldn’t see much of that action, though a winter weather advisory has been issued for the mountains of Santa Barbara and Ventura counties from Wednesday to Thursday. According to the forecast, those counties could see 3 to 6 inches of snow at elevations above 5,000 feet, “with isolated amounts up to 8 inches possible across higher elevations.”
There’s also a 30% chance of between 1 to 2 inches of snow accumulating across the summit of the I-5 Tejon Pass, according to the forecast.
Meanwhile, the storm system will bring colder-than-usual temperatures to the entire Central Coast, with maximum temperatures below 60 degrees. According to the Weather Service, those highs will end up being 6 to 12 degrees below normal.
The stormy weather is expected to clear up Thursday, before some more rain returns to San Luis Obispo County on Saturday.
