Thunder and Lightning Puts on a Show in SLO County, No Major Impacts Reported
Dave Alley
SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. (KEYT) – This week’s storm to hit the Central Coast produced an unusual display of thunder and lightning on Wednesday night, but so far, has not resulted in any significant impacts in San Luis Obispo County.
“This is one of those weird storms that we get sometimes in late summer, early fall where we get kind of the side of a tropical storm and we never know what to expect,” said Anita Konopa, San Luis Obispo County Emergency Services Coordinator. “Sometimes we get a ton of rain and a lot of issues, and sometimes it just kind of spits out and we don’t get a whole lot. It looks like this is going to be one of those second cases where we planned for more than we’re getting.”
Large parts of San Luis Obispo County, including inland, valleys, and mountain areas had been under a flood watch by the National Weather Service (NWS), which was scheduled to last through Friday morning at 2 a.m.
However, due to the change in the storm, the NWS has now lifted those warnings across the county.
When the storm arrived early Wednesday evening, it appeared it was going to pack a big punch.
“Some parts of the county yesterday in 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. range got a bit of a show with some isolated bands of thunderstorms and rain that came through,” said Konopa.
Loud claps of thunder, along with lightning flashes, followed by a sudden downpour were reported in some areas of San Luis Obispo County, raising flags with county emergency officials.
“Dry lightning is always a risk,” said Konopa. “It’s a risk particularly this time of year when the ground is dry and fuels are dry. It was certainly something that our office was working with County CAL FIRE on just to anticipate and be prepared with staffing.”
As of Thursday morning, no fires within the county were reported due to any lightning strikes.
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