Flood Advisory In Effect from 2/28/2023 12:53 PM to 4:00 PM The National Weather Service has issued a flood advisory for Monterey County, including the Monterey Peninsula from effective immediately until 4:00 PM. WHAT: Urban and small stream flooding caused by excessive rainfall is expected. WHERE: Portions of Monterey County, including the Monterey Peninsula. WHEN: from 12:53 PM to 4:00 PM IMPACTS: Minor flooding in low-lying and poor drainage areas. Water over roadways. Ponding of water in urban or other areas is occurring or is imminent. NWS Alert: https://inws.ncep.noaa.gov/a/a.php?i=80369975 More Info: bit.ly/3lV9OPz
The National Weather Service issued a Winter Weather Advisory effective from 10 AM Mon, 02/27 to 4 PM Tues, 02/28 for the Santa Lucia and San Benito County Mtns and Los Padres National Forest, and Interior Monterey County. WHAT: Chance for snow showers expected early Mon. morning with steadier snowfall Mon. afternoon and evening. Snow accumulations 5-10 inches for elevations above 3000 ft, over 1 ft above 4000 ft through Tues. A wintry mix down to 2500 ft possible with a coating to 3 in of snow. Wind gusts 40 to 50 mph Mon. afternoon will lead to blowing snow and reduced visibility. WHERE: Above 3000 ft in the Eastern Santa Clara Hills, Santa Lucia and San Benito County Mountains, Los Padres National Forest & Interior Monterey County. WHEN: 10 PM, 02/26 to 4 PM PST Tuesday, 02/28 IMPACTS: Slick, snow-covered roads and trails. Hikers, campers, and outdoor enthusiasts may encounter dangerous winter-like conditions. Heavier snow showers could produce limited visibility. Downed trees and power outages possible. NWS: inws.ncep.noaa.gov/a/a.php?i=80216564 More Info: bit.ly/3lV9OPzThe National Weather Service issued a Winter Weather Advisory effective from 10 AM Mon, 02/27 to 4 PM Tues, 02/28 for the Santa Lucia and San Benito County Mtns and Los Padres National Forest, and Interior Monterey County. WHAT: Chance for snow showers expected early Mon. morning with steadier snowfall Mon. afternoon and evening. Snow accumulations 5-10 inches for elevations above 3000 ft, over 1 ft above 4000 ft through Tues. A wintry mix down to 2500 ft possible with a coating to 3 in of snow. Wind gusts 40 to 50 mph Mon. afternoon will lead to blowing snow and reduced visibility. WHERE: Above 3000 ft in the Eastern Santa Clara Hills, Santa Lucia and San Benito County Mountains, Los Padres National Forest & Interior Monterey County. WHEN: 10 PM, 02/26 to 4 PM PST Tuesday, 02/28 IMPACTS: Slick, snow-covered roads and trails. Hikers, campers, and outdoor enthusiasts may encounter dangerous winter-like conditions. Heavier snow showers could produce limited visibility. Downed trees and power outages possible. NWS: inws.ncep.noaa.gov/a/a.php?i=80216564 More Info: bit.ly/3lV9OPz
05 – Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, Monterey, San Benito, and Santa Cruz Counties
Contact:
Kevin Drabinski or Alexa Bertola
Phone:
(805) 549-3138 or (805) 549-3237
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
DELINEATORS INSTALLED ON HIGHWAY 1 NEAR BIXBY BRIDGE
TO PROMOTE PARKING SAFETY
MONTEREY COUNTY – Travelers on Highway 1 at the southbound approach to the Bixby Bridge will encounter flexible delineators near the shoulder of the road placed there to encourage single file parallel parking at this popular viewpoint.
Double parking, partial parking in the roadway, backing up into oncoming traffic, and other unsafe driving behaviors at this location, have previously created multiple conflict points for those travelling through on both the southbound and northbound lanes.
These flexible delineators are intended to reduce these conflict points and help maintain the flow of traffic through the area.
Caltrans anticipates positive results from the installation of these flexible delineators and will continue to assess parking issues at the Bixby Bridge in the coming months.
Road information and updates can also be found on Caltrans District 5 Social Media platforms: Twitter at: @CaltransD5, Facebook at: Caltrans Central Coast (District 5) and Instagram at: Caltrans_D5.
Advisory: Winter Storm Watch in effect tonight 10PM Tues 02/21 to 10AM Thurs 02/23 in the Santa Lucias/Los Padres Natl Forest/Interior Monterey/ …
Dear Nixle User,National Weather Service (NWS) issued a Winter Storm Watch in effect tonight Tuesday 02/21/23 through Thursday morning 02/23/23, for elevations above 1500 ft in the Santa Lucia Mountains, Los Padres National Forest, and Interior Monterey County. What: Snow showers expected to arrive Wednesday morning. Total snow accumulations 3 to 6 inches above 2000 ft with higher amounts above 3000 ft expected through Thursday morning. A dusting down to 1500 feet is possible through Thursday morning before snow showers taper off. Where: Above 1500 ft in the Santa Lucia Mountains, Los Padres National Forest, and Interior Monterey County When: 10 PM PST Tuesday through 10 AM PST Thursday. Impacts: Slick, snow-covered roads and hiking trails. Hikers, campers, and outdoor enthusiasts may encounter dangerous winter conditions above the snow level. Heavier snow showers could produce limited visibility. Downed trees and power outages possible. NWS: https://inws.ncep.noaa.gov/a/a.php?i=79921984 More Info/Más Info: bit.ly/3IIgWrj
Yes, snow is predicted to start Tuesday evening, and some models are indicating that it could be quite the show. Before you plan your trip to the snow, know that ALL the backroads in the South Coast of Big Sur are closed with locked gates. The January rains did significant damage to all our dirt roads (and many paved ones as well) which are still in disrepair, although the USFS has started on drainage and culvert repair on the South Coast Ridge Road. There are locked gates on both the east and west sides of Nacimiento-Fergusson Road. The gate at the summit of Naci and South Coast Ridge Road is gated and locked, as is Plaskett at Highway 1 and Los Burros at Highway 1. The forest has been closed since the storms, but some people are trying to sneak in. Our local law enforcement officer is back, and the closure will be strictly enforced.
In unusually dramatic fashion, there will be a sudden shift from mild, dry, and quiescent weather conditions essentially statewide for the past 7-10 days to a much colder and more active weather pattern on Tuesday. A very strong cold front (by California standards) will sweep from northwest to southeast across the entire state later on Tuesday, bringing widespread strong and gusty winds and rapidly colder temperatures. Despite its dynamic strength (in terms of the sharpness of temperature and pressure gradients), this initial cold frontal passage will be quite moisture-starved and will only produce patchy light precip (mainly in the form of mountain snow, although a few rain showers are possible at lower elevations). Some spots, however, may remain entirely dry with howling/locally damaging winds and lowering windchills. Winds Tue into Wed will be notably and locally damaging almost statewide with the passage of this (dry-ish) cold front.
The front, however, will be just the beginning of a very active and interesting weather period to come for all of California. Behind the front, very cold air aloft will filter across all of California for the remainder of the week. An unstable airmass, characterized by occasional spokes of vorticity rotating through a very cold offshore trough, will bring periods of convective showers and perhaps isolated thunderstorms statewide. Snow levels will progressively lower with each passing wave of showers from late Tuesday through early Friday. Just how low they will go has been the subject of much social media speculation in recent days, and I’ll discuss that in some detail below.
Rare combination of a very cold airmass aloft plus enough moisture/lift for precipitation = substantial accumulating snowfall below 1,500ft elevation
Per Daniel Swain, everything in the yellow will have snow by Thursday/Friday.
From NOAA NWS:
Lastly, and it has generated a lot of buzz on social media, the
chance for snowfall. The highest confidence remains in elevations
greater than 1500 feet seeing snow. While the airmass aloft will
be exceptionally cold, as will most morning temperatures, the
afternoon day time temperatures will still be mostly above
freezing which keeps the skepticism around. What makes
forecasting snow so challenging is not having a firm grasp what
the snow to liquid water ratio (and better known acronym SLR)
will be for system - and of course it rarely stays static through
an event. Higher SLRs result in snow totals in the Santa Lucia`s
over 24 inches between Wednesday and Saturday. Reduce the ratio
and end up seeing a less than 2 percent chance of snow over 12
inches and only a 20 percent chance over 4 inches. For now,
confidence remains in the North and East Bay higher elevations to
receive only light dustings with the Santa Cruz Mountains and the
Santa Lucia range the best chance to receive higher accumulations
that could eclipse the 12 inch mark. This is mainly due to the
strong winds over the ocean that can help release surface fluxes
more readily and allow convective processes to prevail because of
the relationship to the cold air mass aloft. That in addition to
the upslope flow right next to the source of moisture, the ocean.
To recap, this is a dynamic system that will impact the area from
Tuesday afternoon through Saturday morning with multiple hazards.
It is encouraged to enjoy the Monday holiday, but also
recommended to prepare for the upcoming unsettled conditions.
