Date: Thursday, January 14, 2010
District: 5 (Santa Barbara, SLO, Monterey, Santa Cruz and San Benito Counties)
Contact: Susana Z. Cruz or Colin Jones
Phone: (805) 549-3138 or (805) 549-3189
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
*Update7*
HIGHWAY 1 DAYTIME WORK ONLY NORTH OF RAGGED POINT CONTINUES

SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTY – Construction to install several horizontal drains on Highway 1 one mile north of Ragged Point continues during the daytime only; night-time closures are complete.

One-way daytime traffic control with flaggers will continue from 7:00 am until 4:00 pm Monday through Thursday and until 2 pm on Fridays. There will be no construction between 2:00 pm on Fridays and 8:00 pm on Sundays. Authorized emergency vehicles will have access to Highway 1 at all times during this project. Electronic message signs will be provided to advise motorists, who can expect delays not to exceed 20 minutes.

(Note: this release is a bit ambiguous, but I think they probably just copied and pasted in the body. If no overnight closures any more, why the 8 pm Sunday night language? The title indicated that overnight closures are finished, it would appear.)

“LIGHT RAIN WILL START ON SATURDAY DUE TO A MINOR DISTURBANCE. THIS WILL BE FOLLOWED BY A STRONGER STORM FOR SUNDAY EVENING INTO MONDAY THAT WILL BRING WIDESPREAD RAINFALL TO THE CWA. TOTALS COULD EASILY EXCEED 3 INCHES AT HIGHER SPOTS WITH UP TO AN INCH FOR MANY URBAN LOCATIONS. IN ADDITION…DYNAMICS ARE FAVORABLE FOR CONVECTIVE ACTIVITY SO SOME THUNDERSTORMS CAN EVEN BE EXPECTED. IMMEDIATELY AFTER THIS DISTURBANCE…MORE SYSTEMS CRASH IN ON TUESDAY…WEDNESDAY…AND THURSDAY WITH EVEN MORE FORECAST BEYOND THAT. IN FACT…CPC 6-10 AND 8-14 DAY (OUT TO JANUARY 27TH) OUTLOOKS HAVE US WITH ABOVE NORMAL RAINFALL WITH MUCH ABOVE NORMAL FORECAST CONFIDENCE LEVEL.”

Get ready, boys and girls. El Niño is coming. The last ENSCO I read indicated the El Niño effects were predicted to last until June!

Last night’s total was 1.5 inches, 2.75 for the storm, and 26.6 for the season to date.

Today, the sun keeps trying to come out, but of course, condensation from the wet ground creates a gray, wet blanket.

Per the usual NOAA sources, it looks like a couple dry days ahead, then, oh boy, watch out. (See forecast post for details.)

10:45 pm update – it has been raining on and off all evening, but no lightning, at least so far. I would guess we have received another 1/2 inch, at least, and will probably hit an inch by first light. I will post tomorrow morning. It is rain that is sorely needed and well appreciated.

5:00 pm update – total rain received today 1.25 inches, for a season total of 25.1 inches. NOAA has issued these warnings: “TONIGHT THRU THURSDAY…HIGH SURF WARNING AND COASTAL FLOOD WARNING ALONG THE COAST.” Also reports indicate lightning possible later tonight.

By 9:30 am, I received 1/2 inch up here. The rain started sometime between 4 am and dawn (while I was sleeping). It continues lightly, and by 11, it is almost (but not quite) up to 3/4 of an inch. Nice, gentle rain, and not too cold.

From NOAA: “9:50 AM PST TUESDAY…MAIN AREA OF CONCERN WILL BE THE SHORT TERM RAIN SHOWERS AND POTENTIAL THUNDERSTORMS LATE THIS EVENING AND INTO WEDNESDAY MORNING…ALONG WITH A SIGNIFICANT SHIFT TO A MUCH WETTER WEATHER PATTERN EARLY NEXT WEEK.”

Per the NOAA discussion: INCOMING SYSTEM. LOOKS LIKE RAIN
SHOULD START IN THE NORTH BAY BY MONDAY AFTERNOON THEN OVERSPREAD THE BAY AREA LATER MONDAY NIGHT. TUESDAY LOOKS LIKE STEADY RAIN FOR MOST OF THE REGION…WITH RAIN TAPERING OFF BY EARLY WEDS MORNING. QPF NUMBERS LOOK SIMILAR TO PREVIOUS RUNS WITH GENERAL 1-2 INCH RAIN POTENTIAL WITH LOCAL 3 INCHES FOR THE NORTH BAY HILLS AND SANTA CRUZ MOUNTAINS.

January is bringing warm gentle weather to us, at least this week, a great time to catch up with garden chores, take a break from work, do some town run things, and enjoy life. Have some matters of interest coming up, but in the mean time, I will be out and about, taking photographs, gardening, and getting ready to hunker down next week. I got quite a few photos of the Rain Rocks/Pitkins Curve worksite yesterday, and boy is it busy! I’ll post to that page later today.

MCWRA issued an official letter yesterday indicating no cloud seeding this year, due to comments received from our community. It has also promised to hold public hearings in the future, and to make sure we are notified of these hearings so that our written or oral comments may be included.

Received more than I would have expected from the sound, .5 inches for a total for the season to-date of 23.85 inches. I’ll be back when I have power again to update forecasts.

Forecasts are all over the map, and forecasters are frustrated with the models. Bottom line is there MAY be showers on and off up through New Year’s Day, but clear on Saturday and most of next week.

10:00 pm – rain did not last long, at all, and unless we get more this evening, will not be measurable, at least by my rain gauge.

8:40 pm – the rain has begun. Not heavy, just present. Not predicted to be much, but will continue to monitor until sleep overtakes me. Total at first light.

Today, a chilly, but crystal clear day. Rain total for last night’s “storm” was just under .25 of an inch. Last night, I tried to upload the photos I took yesterday of the fog “pouring” over the top of Los Burros, but never could get even the first of them up.

And here is a closer look at those incredible clouds/fog:

And, while the internet is working again, here is the same phenomena from a different angle with different lighting:

and the close up: