Good morning Central Coast, happy Friday and happy start to March! Did you know that today marks the start of meteorological spring?
Well, I have been talking about it all week, rain has arrived. Here is a look at your interactive radar.
Thursday winds shifted back onshore, clouds rolled in and temps fell. Rain began to fall in the evening, continuing overnight. Many communities have already picked up a half inch or more rain!
Here is a look at the rain totals so far.
Here is a look at your community-cast for Friday.
We are far from done with the system though, three distinct fronts will push through over the next few days. These are all associated with the same cold storm spinning in the Aleutian Islands up in Alaska. Where the storm is coming from is important as unlike the last few storms we have seen there is much less moisture and overall energy. Tropical systems (like our atmospheric rivers) typically bring much more rain. This storm though, while it isn't as dramatic as our past systems will still be something to talk about.
The light and patchy rain will continue into the evening Friday, at this point some heavier bands are possible. Rinse and repeat for Saturday. Sunday morning the last of the fronts will push through and we will clear out.
On top of the rain we have already picked up we are expecting another inch of rain in northern San Luis Obispo County, closer to three quarters of an inch in SLO and Santa Maria with the south coast closer to half an inch.
Winds and waves are once again a concern with this system, here is a look at those alerts.
Snow levels initially are rather high, but Saturday night they drop down to about 3500 ft. There isn’t much of the system left at that time but winter weather advisories could be needed. Something to keep an eye on.
However, elsewhere in California, this will be a huge winter storm. Parts of The Sierra could see 70+” of snow.
Sunday afternoon, through Tuesday looks clear but the pattern is suggesting that another system will head our way to close next week. Here is a look at the 7 day forecasts.
Have a great day Central Coast!
