10 am – quite overcast, which means not nearly as cold as it has been, lately, thankfully.

SLO forecaster has this to say:

“However, the trailing edge of a weak cold front will pass over San Luis Obispo County late Tuesday from north to south with increasing clouds. Rain showers will develop along the Ragged Point southward towards Cambria.

By the time the front reaches San Luis Obispo, it will only produce a few light rain showers/sprinkles on Tuesday evening and night.

Fair weather returns on Wednesday and should last through next
weekend with pleasant weather and much warmer temperatures along the coast with temperatures in the high 60s to the low 70s.

NOAA has this to say: “A FEW SPRINKLES THIS MORNING WILL GIVE WAY TO LARGER POCKETS OF RAINFALL THIS AFTERNOON INTO THE EVENING.”

The most of the rain will be to our north, it would appear, and no hydrological issues expected from this storm. Enjoy. (Maybe enough to wash away the evidence of the hang gliders below!)

Here are some progression photos of a slide in this area. They were taken on 3 different days, and while I did not catch the slide itself, one can see the before and after effects.

I would like to apologize for the quality of these last two shots from January 3rd – cracked windshield and lens flare, but they show the left over from the slide and some of the large amount of mud and rocks that had to be moved.

While cold this morning, the skies were crystallized blue – beautiful blue – sunshiny blue. Deck was frozen and quite slippery. There was a dusting of snow on Cone Peak, and I missed that photo op. Darn.

Chance of a storm on Thursday, but only a slight possibility at this point, so we could be in for a wonderful string of weather this week. I’ll post a photo of Salmon Creek happily flowing taken this morning when I get in tonight.

Here’s Salmon Creek this morning:

Tomorrow, if time permits, photos of Mud Creek, which slid last night, and closed the road south of Gorda. I have before, and the clean up. Rock Knocker and I have been keeping an eye on this spot!

*IMPORTANT* 7:18PM CHP Unit Enroute (see below)

7:00 pm – *IMPORTANT* From the CHP website (Thanks, Anne Ashley!):

Incident: 0448Type:Mud, Dirt or Rock SlideLocation:SR1 JSO GORDAThomasBrothers:889 2Hinfo as of:1/2/2011 6:35:22 PM
ADDITIONAL DETAILS
6:05PMMUD SLIDE IS BLOCKING RDWY
6:05PMONE VEH 1125, SM PASS CAR, OTHER ON RS WAS SUV
6:05PMBLOCKING RDWY, 2 MOTORISTS DISABLED

2:00 pm – From Martha Diehl: Shot this morning. I believe this is Rocky Creek Bridge. Wonderful clouds and gorgeous photo! Thanks, Martha

Here, the rain seems to finally have let up, but I’m not putting away my rain gear, just yet!

*IMPORTANT* ROCK/MUD SLIDE JUST SOUTH OF LUCIA AT APPROXIMATELY 11:45 AM!

Noon – some intermittent hail.

NOAA says: AS OF 9:00 AM PST SUNDAY… FROM THE SANTA CRUZ MOUNTAINS SOUTHWARD…THE LOW WILL CONTINUE TO
PUMP MOISTURE INTO THE REGION FOR LIGHT TO MODERATE RAINFALL RATES THROUGH THE DAY. THE HIGHER TERRAIN WILL EXPERIENCE THE MOST RAINFALL AS MODERATE SOUTHWEST FLOW ENHANCES THE MOISTURE AS IT IS FORCED UPSLOPE.

AS FOR THE POSSIBILITY OF THUNDERSTORMS…STABILITY INDICES ARE MARGINAL AND SINCE A FEW LIGHTNING STRIKES WERE REPORTED LAST NIGHT WILL KEEP A SLIGHT CHANCE IN THE FORECAST FOR THE SOUTHERN PORTION OF THE CWA TODAY. THE MAIN ISSUE WITH THUNDERSTORMS FOR TODAY WILL BE HEAVY RAIN ON ALREADY SATURATED SOILS … ESPECIALLY OVER THE FIRE SCARRED AREAS.

OUTSIDE OF ANY THUNDERSTORMS THAT DEVELOP…THE ADDITIONAL AMOUNT OF RAINFALL EXPECTED IS 1/10 TO 1/2 INCH FOR THE SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA…1/2 TO 1 INCH IN THE SANTA CRUZ MOUNTAINS…1/10 TO 1/3 INCH IN THE VALLEYS SOUTH OF SAN JOSE…AND 1/2 TO 1 INCH IN THE SANTA
LUCIAS WITH ISOLATED HIGHER AMOUNTS.”

Two and 1/2 inches yesterday and last night. Season total, 22.5 inches and still coming down. Big Sur Valley reported 2 inches by this morning. Catch up on reports, shortly.

4:00 pm – never got out of the 30’s up here, and with the wind, it seemed even colder.

NOAA puts the next storm in on Friday night, possibly thru Monday,and a SLO forecast puts it in on Saturday and last thru Tuesday. All seem to agree there is another storm headed our way. One report indicates snow down to 2,000 ft on New Year’s Day. That could be fun!

10:00 am – 1/2 inch of water froze solid in the rain barrel; the dog dish frozen solid; 35 degrees, currently, but lots of blue skies and sunshine. Very busy day on top of this mountain today, but will keep an eye on my usual reports as I can. Almost 2011, and I have something planned for tomorrow that I think you will enjoy!

9:30 pm – frost is on the deck, the cold has settled in. It is 33 degrees. I am ready to cuddle up. Check with you all tomorrow!

2:00 pm – County Rds working on clearing the slides on N-F Rd. and here is an unreported slide at Shale Point, that was cleaned up about a 1/2 an hour ago. Photos by Rock Knocker

12:30 pm – the slide near Limekiln has apparently been cleared, as it is no longer showing up on CHP website.

11:15 am – *IMPORTANT* CHP reports a new slide just south of Limekiln. The one at Esalen has been cleared. It is really moving, now. Be careful out there!

10:30 am – Local resident reports three slides on N-F Rd. west of the summit, making it virtually impassable. While he was able to get down, he does not anticipate being able to get home, UNLESS the County Road crew clears it today. No word about whether that will happen. N-F Rd is also closed on FHL at river crossing due to high water and bridge repair. They try to open it when possible, and repairs should be finished by mid-January. Not recommended in the meantime.

9:00 am – NEXRAD looks pretty clear, and CHP is no longer showing the slide near Esalen. Wind is still gusting, and the day is gray and overcast.

8:00 am – in the last 12 hours, I received 2.5 inches of rain! Whew. Bit of wind going on, too.

*IMPORTANT* Mud/Rock SLIDE just north of Esalen blocking NB lane per CHP. KSBW is reporting Highway One closed

8:45 pm – finally, the rain has arrived, but the high winds have not. Still pretty quiet.

7:45 pm – Paso Robles is reporting high winds and rain. Fresno is reporting the same, but up here, it is quiet – no wind, and the drizzle is so minimal, I had to open the door and shine a flashlight to make sure anything was happening.

Here’s the current water vapor map. Thanks, Dave!

NWS Radar:

4:00 pm – by 4 am, predictions are for 1 and 1/2 to 2 inches of rain in the coastal mountains. Rain started in King City just over 15 mins. ago. Looks like it is raining in Big Sur, too! BTW, for those of you keeping track, I forgot to post my rain totals for Christmas, which was 1.25, bringing the season total up to 20 inches.

3:30 pm – the rain has not yet come to this part of the coast, although the clouds are heavy and ominous. Paso Robles reports that a light rain has already started there, about 15 mins ago.

AS OF 2:15 PM PST TUESDAY…THE MAIN FOCUS IS ON THE UPCOMING STORMY WEATHER LATE THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT.

AN ASSOCIATED VERY STRONG COLD FRONT WILL MOVE INTO THE DISTRICT TONIGHT. WITH VERY STRONG ISENTROPIC LIFT…RAIN WILL BE HEAVY AT TIMES THIS EVENING… STARTING IN THE NORTH BAY…MOVING SOUTH OVERNIGHT.

WIND WILL ALSO BE AN ISSUE. 925 MB WINDS ARE FORECAST TO BE 50 KT AHEAD AND WITH THE FRONT. FALLING TREES AND DOWNED POWER LINES ARE LIKELY ACROSS THE DISTRICT TONIGHT. CURRENTLY THERE IS A WIND ADVISORY FOR THE ENTIRE DISTRICT FOR TONIGHT.

TEMPS WILL BE SIGNIFICANTLY COLDER AFTER THE FRONT PASSES BY WED MORNING. SHOWERS WILL TAPER OFF DURING THE MORNING HOURS. THERE COULD BE A LITTLE SNOW MIXED IN IN THE HIGHER HILLS. WITH STRONG COLD AIR ADVECTION AND A TIGHT PRESSURE GRADIENT WINDS WILL REMAIN GUSTY AT TIMES.

A WEAK WAVE DROPPING DOWN FROM THE NORTH WILL BRING A SLIGHT CHANCE OF SHOWERS TO THE DISTRICT ON THURSDAY. WITH THE COLD AIR…SNOW SHOWERS ARE POSSIBLE IN THE HILLS.