And one from me taken Friday

Date:	Thursday, September 28, 2023
District:	05 – Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, Monterey, San Benito, and Santa Cruz Counties
Contact:	Kevin Drabinski or Jim Shivers
Phone:	(805) 549-3138 or (805) 549-3237

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

ARTHRITIS FOUNDATION’S 2023 CALIFORNIA COAST CLASSIC BIKE TOUR

TO PASS THROUGH CENTRAL COAST SEPTEMBER 30 THROUGH OCTOBER 6

CALTRANS DISTRICT 5 – The California Coast Classic (CCC) Bike Tour returns to the central coast with 200 riders traveling the coast highway from San Francisco to Los Angeles, from September 30 through October 6.

The CCC Bike Tour will travel on Highway 1 from 7:30 am to 6:00 pm at the following schedule.

• Saturday Sept. 30 / San Francisco to Santa Cruz 

• Sunday Oct. 1 / Santa Cruz to Monterey 

• Monday Oct. 2 / Monterey to Big Sur 

• Tuesday Oct. 3 / Paso Robles to Cambria via Highway 46 & SLO County Roads

• Wednesday Oct. 4 / Cambria to Oceano 

• Thursday Oct. 5 / Oceano to Los Olivos 

• Friday Oct. 6 / Los Olivos to Ventura

The CCC bike tour concludes Saturday Oct. 7 with a ride from Ventura to Santa Monica.

Please be alert for these riders and follow all rules of the road as they travel through your communities.

                                                                ###

Kevin Drabinski

Public Information Officer

Caltrans District 5

50 Higuera St.

San Luis Obispo CA 93401

Office: 805.549.3138

Cell: 805.748.1858

TTY 711

From Dr. Daniel Swain, aka Weather West. While this is quite long, as he says toward the end of this article, it is an important conversation, and I would urge you to read the entire thing: “Some additional thoughts regarding the still strengthening El Niño and its implications for western U.S. hydroclimate during winter 2023-24.

International dynamical models ensemble is now unanimous in predicting strong to very strong #ElNiño event that will peak sometime this winter. This is a remarkably strong signal, so I’m reasonably confident that the oceanic signature of a strong EN will actually occur.

Additionally, there’s good consensus that this #ElNiño event will be centered in the eastern Pacific basin, versus the central Pacific (i.e., this is not “#ElNiño Modoki”). High confidence in strong, east-based event signals increased likelihood of WUS hydroclimate impacts.

Canonically, that would mean increased odds of a drier than usual winter across the PacNW & Hawaii and of a wetter than usual winter across much of California, Arizona, and New Mexico. But although El Niño’s never the only game in town, that’s especially true this year.

In addition the likely strong El Niño event clearly apparent in the eastern tropical Pacific, nearly the entirety of the global oceans have been (and are projected to remain) far warmer than average (and record warm in some places). This complicates things considerably.

The co-occurrence of numerous pockets of exceptionally/record warm ocean water outside of the tropics with a strong east-based #ElNiño event has essentially not been observed before. The oceans presently have, and are expected to retain, a configuration without modern analogue.

Because ENSO teleconnections are driven by anomalous ocean temps gradients as well as absolute ocean warmth, this has potential to throw wrench into things. How? Depends: different mechanisms could either interfere with or reinforce “classic” ENSO teleconnections.

Extraordinary warmth in mid-latitude oceans will reduce anomalous latitudinal ocean temperature gradient, for example, perhaps weakening subtropical jet response. But those same warm waters will add additional moisture atmosphere, potentially enhancing those storms that do form.

All of that said: here’s a probabilistic take from the large ECMWF seasonal ensemble. Here, I’m focusing on potential for conditions to fall into in the wettest (or driest) third of Jan-Mar periods on record, rather than just looking at averages.

All of that said: here’s a probabilistic take from the large ECMWF seasonal ensemble. Here, I’m focusing on potential for conditions to fall into in the wettest (or driest) third of Jan-Mar periods on record, rather than just looking at averages.

There’s a strong signal toward emerging/worsening drought (precip in the lowest 33% of years) in the Pacific Northwest and SW British Columbia, as well as the entire Hawaiian island chain, this winter.

Meanwhile, there’s a modest signal toward a second consecutive wet winter in the Pacific Southwest, especially coastal/central & southern CA. Notably, however, this is less certain than the drought signal in the PacNW & Hawaii.

These probabilistic outlooks represent tilts in the odds, not certainties. A wide range of outcomes remains possible. But given potential for dry winter in PacNW to worsen existing drought, & for wet winter in CA to follow wet antecedents, this is an important conversation.

Finally: Despite caveats, there is meaningful physical & statistical information embedded in this. So just as I’d advise folks to be wary of social media folks “overhyping” El Niño, I’d advise same regarding folks saying ENSO tells us nothing about SW US hydroclimate!

Date:	Monday September 18, 2023
District:	05 – Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, Monterey, San Benito, and Santa Cruz Counties
Contact:	Kevin Drabinski or Jim Shivers
Phone:	(805) 549-3138 or (805) 549-3237

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

WINTER PREP WORK ON HIGHWAY 1 CONTINUES BETWEEN

CARMEL HIGHLANDS AND GARRAPATA STATE PARK

MONTEREY COUNTY – Travelers in both directions of Highway 1 south of Carmel Highlands will encounter one-way traffic control Tuesday thru Thursday this week as Caltrans crews conduct winter prep operations.

Travelers will encounter one-way traffic control this week on Highway 1 between Garrapata State Park and Carmel Highlands (Post Mile 66.8 to 67.8) from 8:30 am to 2:30 pm.

This work will take place on Tuesday Sept. 19, Wednesday Sept. 20, and Thursday Sept. 21.

Travelers can expect delays of up to five minutes

Message and directional signs will be in place to alert travelers.

This traffic control will permit crews to clean debris and growth from ditches and culverts in advance of winter weather. This drainage infrastructure helps divert water away from roadways enabling them to stay open longer during inclement weather.

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. 

Our crews deserve to get home safely too.

Drive slowly and carefully in work zones.

CHP Traffic Incident Information Page: http://cad.chp.ca.gov

Traveler information at: https://quickmap.dot.ca.gov/

By Brendon Shave

by bigsurkate

The atmospheric rivers which pounded the South Coast of Big Sur, over and over again, were brutal. We were flooded, frozen, and isolated from the rest of the world, and yet, we survived and even thrived in some cases. We learned about ourselves and our neighbors and where our strengths and our weaknesses lie in ourselves and in each other.

Our major transportation arteries collapsed in places and were buried in places. Two of them are still being repaired, one, Paul’s Slide, with no date for reopening. The second, Nacimiento-Fergusson is expected to only have the east side of the road repairs finished by August of 2024. The west, and more complicated side, will not even begin repairs until mid October. The dirt roads are under repair, gravel loads are calculated and deliveries being arranged.

Meanwhile, we are being warned of an El Niño gaining strength which might bring an even worse winter our way this year.

It is not something we are looking forward to, but it is something we will face as the global world has had to face with climate change — crazy wildfires in Canada, flooding in Greece and Lybia, glaciers collapsing and sea levels rising. As Dylan sung, “The times, they are a changing.”

I am taking stock and into the fine tuning stage of preparation. I have all the major things taken care of, and now am stocking up on the shelf stable or freezer stable luxury items — frozen berries, cake mixes, sodas, wine, and the like. While I don’t have enough room for a lot of these items after I stock 30 more pounds of dog food, a few of them are nice to have on hand.

Meanwhile, I am prepping my blog to make the switch from fire season to flood season. You will watch my links change over the next few days. We have not received enough rain to be out of fire season, yet, so those links will remain for a few more weeks, but I will be adding our El Niño watch links. Enjoy our wonderful Fall weather.

Date:	Tuesday, September 12, 2023
District:	05 – Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, Monterey, San Benito, and Santa Cruz Counties
Contact:	Kevin Drabinski or Jim Shivers
Phone:	(805) 549-3138 or (805) 549-3237

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

UPDATE #48

REPAIRS CONTINUE AT PAUL’S SLIDE WITH UPDATED REPAIR DESIGN 

MONTEREY/SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTIES – After a brief reassessment in early August, crews have continued to engage in ongoing repairs to Highway 1 at Paul’s Slide. Highway 1 remains closed to vehicle, bicycle, and pedestrian traffic for two miles, between Limekiln State Park to the south and the town of Lucia to the north. 

There have been two overriding safety priorities while working to fully reopen the highway. The first has been the safety of the crews who make these repairs while working at a site that is steep and where slide activity continues (and will continue) to take place.

The second goal has been to design a repair that will create a safe roadway for the travelling public.

With those safety priorities in mind, engineering teams have developed a repair design which will bring the roadway slightly inland as it passes in front of the Paul’s Slide complex. This design also allows for an enlarged catchment area between concrete barriers and fencing placed along the northbound lane and the toe of the slide. This will enhance safety for the travelling public as well as for construction and maintenance crews.

Crews are working seven days a week during all daylight hours. Because of uncertainty regarding continued slide activity at the repair site as well as weather conditions over the coming months, there is no current estimated time for a full reopening of Highway 1 at Paul’s Slide.

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.

Our crews deserve to get home safely too.

Drive slowly and carefully in work zones.

CHP Traffic Incident Information Page: http://cad.chp.ca.gov

Traveler information at: https://quickmap.dot.ca.gov/

                           | #BeWorkZoneAlert | Twitter | Facebook | YouTube |

Views of the south end of Paul’s Slide with fill being added to support the new roadbed.

Kevin Drabinski

Public Information Officer