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San Luis Obispo Creek is flowing, thanks to spring storms
The rains in the beginning of March 2018 have brought a healthy flow of water to San Luis Obispo Creek. Joe Johnston

WEATHER

Huge storm forecast to bring 4-8 inches of rain to Central Coast

BY JOHN LINDSEY
Special to The Tribune
March 18, 2018 07:34 PM
Updated March 18, 2018 07:50 PM
Here is this week’s weather forecast by PG&E meteorologist John Lindsey.
A break in the rain is forecast for the Central Coast into Monday. Gentle to moderate (8- to 18-mph) Santa Lucia (northwesterly) winds are forecast to produce partly cloudy skies along the coastline. However, abundant moisture near the surface will allow dense fog and mist to develop in the inland valleys during the night and morning hours, followed by fair, dry and warmer temperatures during the afternoon.

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Clouds will begin to increase Monday afternoon and night, and a shift back toward wet and windy weather is likely. A deep upper-level low-pressure system is forecast to develop about 900 miles to the southwest of San Luis Obispo and move toward the Central Coast. This system will push strong upper-level winds from the Hawaiian Islands northeastward over Central California. At the surface, a 995-millibar low-pressure system and associated a cold front will tap into subtropical moisture and create an atmospheric river condition that will produce strong to gale-force (25- to 38-mph) southerly winds and moderate to heavy rain Tuesday morning into Thursday. The upper-level low-pressure system is then forecast to move ashore by Thursday night into Friday with rain showers.
At this time, total rainfall amounts of between 4 and 6 inches, with higher amounts in the Santa Lucia Mountains, are expected. Between 4 and 8 inches of rain could fall in the burn areas of Santa Barbara and Ventura counties on Tuesday into Thursday. Snow levels will remain above 7,500 feet.
Cooler temperatures will then return by the end of the week and may last into the weekend, with the possibility of passing systems bringing additional rain showers to the region.

Surf report

Sunday’s 4- to 6-foot northwesterly (305-degree, deep-water) swell (with an 8- to 11-second period) is expected to decrease to 2- to 4-feet (with an 8- to 14-second period) on Monday into Tuesday morning.
Strong to gale-force (25- to 38-mph) southerly winds will generate 6- to 8-foot southerly (180-degree, shallow-water) seas (with a 3- to 5-second period) on Tuesday afternoon and night, building to 8 to 10 feet (with a 5- to 11-second period) on Wednesday into Friday.
Seawater temperatures will range between 54 and 57 degrees through Friday.
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RELATED STORIES FROM SAN LUIS OBISPO TRIBUNE

At PG&E, the safety of our customers and employees is a top priority. Always remember, consider downed power lines still active. Stay away from the lines and keep others away from them. Call 911 immediately to report the location of a downed line. After reporting the downed line, call PG&E’s Residential Customer Service Center at 1-800-743-5000.
John Lindsey’s Weekly Forecast is special to The Tribune. He is PG&E’s Diablo Canyon Power Plant marine meteorologist and media relations representative. Contact him at pgeweather@pge.com. Follow him on Twitter @PGE_John.