Get your umbrellas ready - more rain is on the way this week.

The first rain storm Saturday brought as much as one-half to three-quarters of an inch of rain to some parts of the Central Coast, due to a low pressure system moving across from the west, a National Weather Service meteorologist said.

Today's forecast includes a 40 percent chance of rain, while a 30 percent chance of rain remains through Wednesday night, according to the weather service.

Coastal areas and mountains could accumulate as much as one or two inches of rain by Thursday, said weather specialist Stuart Seto.

By 4:30 p.m. Saturday, the Weather Service reported .18 of an inch fell in Santa Maria, .24 for Lompoc, .39 for Los Alamos, .28 for Oceano and .55 for Pismo Beach, .71 at Port San Luis and .50 in Santa Barbara.

Pacific Gas & Electric Company crews responded to a power outage Saturday evening, affecting 4,200 customers in San Luis Obispo, Grover Beach, Shell Beach and Avila Beach, a spokesman said. Power was expected to be restored by 10:30 p.m. Officials blamed equipment failure for the cause.

Seto said meteorologists were expecting the storm to hit this week but they were mostly unsure as to how much rain was going to fall.

Advertisement

Santa Maria's normal rainfall for January is 2.24 inches, according to Weather Service records. To date, .31 of an inch has fallen.

But the forecast in the next few months looks more optimistic, Seto said.

“At this point, it looks like we're in a position for more storms starting in February and March,” Seto said. “If we get several good rain storms there's a chance of catching up with the normal (value).”

It definitely may help lower the risk of wildfires, he added.

Santa Barbara County Fire Capt. Keith Cullom couldn't agree more.

“There's still a lot of dead fuel around, but with the rain you're gonna get new growth and that would definitely slow down any fire,” Cullom said.

While firefighters weren't battling wildfires Saturday, they responded to more collisions than normal, he said.

“We haven't been hopping, but we had a couple of accidents today,” he said.

Among a flurry of highway accidents blamed on wet roads, a vehicle spun out of control off Highway 101 and rolled down an embankment several times near El Capitan State Beach around 10 a.m., according to the California Highway Patrol.

“It's going to be raining for a while and these are thing things that happen when it rains,” said CHP Officer Don Clotworthy.

In the presence of rain, one collision factor called “hydroplaning” happens when the vehicle loses traction with the roadway, he said.

“And once that happens, you're not longer able to steer the vehicle,” he said.

Clotworthy reminded drivers to keep their speed down and stay attentive of puddles, he said.

Luis Ernesto Gomez can be reached at 739-2218, or lgomez@

santamariatimes.com.

Jan. 28, 2007