High Wind — Santa Lucia Mountains, California

2023-02-24 · Santa Lucia Mountains, California

Event narrative

Strong southerly winds impacted the Santa Lucia Mountains in San Luis Obispo county.

Some peak wind gusts from the local mesonet include: TV Towers (gust 64 MPH), Whale Rock (gust 61 MPH) and High School Hill (gust 61 MPH).

Wider weather episode

A powerful winter storm brought heavy rain, heavy snow and strong winds to Southwestern California. Rainfall totals ranged from 2 to 5 inches across coastal and valleys areas with 4 to 10 inches across the foothills and mountains. Snow levels dropped down, resulting in significant snowfall across the mountains. Below 5000 feet, 6 to 12 inches of snow was reported while the resort level (greater than 6000 feet) received 2 to 5 feet of snowfall. With the snowfall and strong winds, a Blizzard Warning was issues for the mountains of Ventura and Los Angeles counties. As for winds, peak gusts of 60 to 80 MPH were reported.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1084347. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.