CENTRAL COAST—Heavy rain has drenched the Central Coast over the past few days leading to evacuations, road closures and flooding.
While the first half of January was dry, leaving the window open for fears of a drought, the powerful rains have ushered in a new fear of debris flows and mudslides in the Santa Cruz Mountains where the CZU August Lightning Complex fire scorched more than 86,000 acres.
Evacuation orders were lifted at 11am Thursday in the San Lorenzo Valley but officials remained on high alert as the tail end of the latest storm tapered off.
Jeff Lorber, meteorologist of the National Weather Service of Monterey, said the heavy rain that fell Tuesday evening through Thursday was part of an atmospheric river stemming from the Gulf of Alaska.
“By Saturday we will see sunny but cool weather,” Lorber said. “Sunday should start out dry but by the afternoon there is a chance of rain.”
Lorber said rain could also edge into Monday. Then dry weather, with on again off again clouds will dominate the weather picture through the first week of February.
“It’s looking like a dry pattern will begin by the middle of next week,” Lorber said. “We should see an extended period of dry weather.”
On Tuesday at the coast a crew from Santa Cruz County carved out a channel in the sand to help the Pajaro River drain into the sea. Backed up water was close to brimming over a section of Beach Road and the streets inside the Pajaro Dunes community. Roads supervisor Alex Sondoval said the project was a one-day job.
Road crews were also busy around the county with downed trees and power lines. Buena Vista Drive was closed by the landfill due to flooding Wednesday.
Lorber said the high winds that whipped through the region earlier in the week have moved on.
