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Pay attention to the “just silly” statement re the 10 inches of rain in 5 days. That being said, the Santa Lucias along the Big Sur coast score big once again. From NOAA/NWS Monterey Bay:

While the NBM low end scenario seems more reasonable
with 0.5-1.0" across the region, the high end remains outrageous.
The NBM 90% percentile accumulation is suggesting widespread
totals of greater than 10 inches along the coast, with up to 24
inches in the Santa Lucia Mountains. Meanwhile the global
ensembles are showing a much tighter spread. Take SFO for example.
All 30 members of the GEFS and all 50 of the ECMWF EPS are
between 0.75 and 3.5 inches. Even in a historical context, San
Francisco has never experienced more than 10 inches of rain over
a 5 day period since record keeping began in 1849. To say that
there is a 10% chance that this system will bring more rain than
the area has seen since the gold rush era is just silly. A more
reasonable high end scenario is 3-5 inches for most coastal areas,
with 4-6 in the mountains and 2-3 in some of the rain shadow
areas. This is only about an inch above the deterministic
forecast, which lies on the high end of guidance.
bigsurkate

Appointed appellate counsel for indigent defendants (retired.) I have lived in Big Sur since 1984, first on the north coast, and on the South Coast since 1989.

View Comments

  • Maybe "silly," but period, intensity, and soil moisture content/depth/percolation rate, and other factors can influence the severity of debris flows.

  • I was probably overly optimistic to book a group site at Plaskett Creek with my family for three nights over Christmas! I knew the risk, but I just miss the area so much!
    Kate, I hope you are doing okay while dealing with RK’s head injuries. If you are home, and weather permits, we are most happy to bring to you whatever you might need on 12/24.

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