The Spring Equinox this year has been welcomed with various severe weather alerts in San Luis Obispo County and throughout the coast of California. The National Weather Service reported both a flood watch and wind advisory active from Monday to Thursday.
On Tuesday, San Luis Obispo can expect up to an inch of rain, as well as thunderstorms Tuesday into Wednesday.
There are additional hazardous marine conditions with dangerous waves and rip currents over beaches, steep waves for mariners and potential breaking waves at harbor entrances with south exposure.
Some nearby counties are already facing the severity and have to evacuate. An evacuation notice was sent out to residents of Oceano in SLO County. Oceano residents residing south of the Arroyo Grande Creek Levee and all areas south of the AG Creek Channel for one mile and West of Hwy 1 Area around the Oceano Lagoon have been asked to take safety precautions because of the anticipated damage.
Due to the increase in severe weather over the past couple of months, the city has adopted various rehabilitation efforts to fix the damage. In a Feb. 21 city council meeting, city manager Derek Johnson said that many of the damages would be fixed nearing the end of February; almost 60 days after the storms begin.
Following this proclamation and plan for safety efforts, the city hosted an emergency “special meeting” on March 13 to discuss their plans for a sudden flood warning. In this meeting, the council adopted a proclamation of a local emergency following Gov. Gavin Newsom’s initial proclamation of an emergency on March 1. There have been no updates on similar efforts for this week’s storm.
Mustang News reached out to Cal Poly spokesperson Matt Lazier regarding the potential safety measures students should take during finals week as well as traveling home.
“Campus community members are urged to take precautions to keep themselves and others safe, to monitor road conditions, and to plan routes accordingly,” Lazier wrote to Mustang News.
Lazier said the university’s Emergency Management Department will continue to monitor the storm, and any emergency alerts would be shared via Poly Alert and campus emails if needed.
Cal Poly has yet to make any updates as weather conditions worsen.