1/4/23 - Afternoon update

I thought I would give a quick update. The rain has started delayed slightly but it will hang around longer.

The latest update now shows up to 10 inches falling in the mountains with rain rates at 1 ¼ inch per hour later tonight. Rain will really start to come down hard around 10 pm and last into the Thursday morning hours.

All systems go for our storm system, with minimal changes. Rain amounts and intensity forecast remain unchanged, with the caveat of mentioning isolated totals to 10 inches and rates to 1.25 inches per hour. The storm will peak in intensity tonight over SLO and Santa Barbara Counties and over Ventura and LA Counties Thursday morning. The storm looks to move very slowly over Santa Barbara and Ventura Counties, which is why they will likely see the highest amounts.

This is a lot of water and the threat of flooding is a real concern. Expect a lot of roadway flooding, including a few freeway closures.

The Thursday morning commute will be bad. Several small streams will likely flood and spill over. Stay out of and away from any creeks and drainages as these could become dangerous quickly.

Jack Martin