The rain keeps falling on Monterey Peninsula
MONTEREY >> A low-pressure system trailing down the Pacific Coast brought an unusual score of September showers to Monterey County over the weekend, dousing the droughtstricken region in its most fruitful bout of rain received since mid-April.
With showers falling intermittently through Sunday and persistent rainfall continuing overnight into early Monday morning, the county clocked in anywhere from an inch of rain on the Monterey Peninsula to as high as four inches in coastal ranges — more precipitation than is expected for early fall.
“Measurable precipitation at all is not unusual. But this much that we've gotten for September is on the unusual side,” said Dalton Behringer, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service's Monterey office.
Typically, September is Monterey County's third-driest month, behind July and August. An uncharacteristically strong storm for this time of year traveling down from Alaska, however, boggled trends. It moved along the western coast of the continent and recently stalled over local waters, Behringer explained. The system, anticipated to linger through early Wednesday, regaled Northern California with a much-needed soak.
“It's kind of one of these things that can happen from time to time,” he said, adding that Monterey County's precipitation was magnified by a band of rain “that trained over us and really helped enhance rainfall totals locally for us.”
The 48-hour precipitation totals for Monterey County placed a bulk of the rainfall in the Santa Lucia Range. Of the coastal mountains, Mining Ridge received the largest spurt of showers with 4.45 inches of rain, while Three Peaks saw 3.78 inches and Anderson Peak received just over 2.5. Closer to the coast, Big Sur reported 1.69 inches of rain. And on the Peninsula, both Point Pinos and Monterey Airport received around an inch of precipitation.
Comparing this storm to years past, Behringer said the last time Monterey County received similar levels of precipitation during September was in 1983.
Local totals from this weekend dipped a little further north with the Marina Airport reporting 0.4 inches of rain but picked up at the edge of Santa Cruz County in Watsonville, which received nearly two inches of rain. The National Weather Service issued a flood advisory from Big Sur to Watsonville for a few hours early Monday morning.
Amid minor flooding and debris flow, Caltrans closed Highway 1 in both directions between Ragged Point in San Luis Obispo County and Point Lobos Sunday night at the request of the California Highway Patrol, said Kevin Drabinski, spokesman for Caltrans District 5. The roadway was reopened just before 8:30 a.m. Monday.
“It was not serious flooding or debris,” Drabinski said, assuring that conditions on Highway 1 as of Monday mid-morning were “welcoming to all travelers.”
As for the storm's longterm impact, rainfall will help dampen dire drought and fire conditions across the state, albeit temporarily.
“It's definitely not a fire season-ending system but a fire season-slowing system,” Behringer said. “It's definitely beneficial and will delay any concerning fire conditions — for now.”
Alongside rainfall, the recent
weather system likewise elevated winds across the county. The Salinas Airport saw some of the biggest gusts, reporting 3540 mile per hour winds. Elsewhere, the Monterey
Airport, as well as the Santa Lucia mountains, experienced 20-30 mile per hour gales.
As the remnants of the storm filters through, scattered showers are forecast through Wednesday. Meanwhile, temperatures are expected to warm up later this week.