Strong Wind — Santa Lucia Mountains and Los Padres National Forest, California

2021-01-26 to 2021-01-27 · Santa Lucia Mountains and Los Padres National Forest, California

Event narrative

Mesonet station (PG&E) on Old Coast Tower measured gusts between 50 and 60 mph with a peak gust of 65 mph.

Wider weather episode

A plume of moisture from the tropical Pacific brought an Atmospheric River to the Bay Area January 26th-29th. This system generated heavy rain rates causing flooding and debris flows over area burn scars as well as 15 to 20 inches of rain in the Santa Lucia Mountains. Mudflows near the River Fire burn scar in Monterey County caused damage to homes, covered roadways, and trapped animals at local ranches. Debris flows near the Dolan Fire burn scar caused an entire section of Highway 1 near Rat Creek to collapse into the Pacific Ocean. This was an unusually cold system for an Atmospheric River resulting in lower snow levels and allowing for accumulating snow as low as 1300 feet in elevation. Additionally, strong south to southeast winds gusted to 60-70 mph across area peaks with Mt Diablo reaching 80 mph. Valley locations were gusting up to 40 mph. Numerous trees fell across the region including into homes and onto cars. Multiple power outages were also reported. It is estimated that the storm caused millions of dollars in damage across Santa Cruz County https://www.ksbw.com/article/emergency-declaration-made-in-santa-cruz-county-for-millions-in-damages/35400060. Full storm summary https://www.weather.gov/mtr/AtmosphericRiver_1_26-29_2021.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 935841. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.