San Luis Obispo, CA

... Wind Advisory in effect from 10 PM this evening to 3 PM PST
Tuesday...

The National Weather Service in Los Angeles/Oxnard has issued a
Wind Advisory... which is in effect from 10 PM this evening to
3 PM PST Tuesday.

* Timing... winds are expected to increase overnight then peak on
Tuesday morning.

* Winds... southeast 20 to 30 mph with gusts to 45 mph... except gusts
over 50 mph in the hills and near the immediate coast.

* Impacts... winds this strong can make driving
difficult... especially for high profile vehicles. In
addition... there will be the potential for downed trees.

Precautionary/preparedness actions...

A Wind Advisory means that winds of 35 mph or greater are
expected. Winds this strong can make driving difficult...
especially for high profile vehicles. Use extra caution.

... A wet weather pattern to develop across southwest California on
Tuesday...

A storm system off the West Coast will move east into southwest
California through Tuesday... and bring a cool... wet... and unsettled
weather pattern.

Gusty southerly flow developing ahead of the storm systems cold
front will increase across the area Tuesday morning. While breezy
conditions will be prominent almost everywhere on Tuesday... the
strongest winds are expected over Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo
counties... especially in those mountains where potentially damaging
gusts over 60 mph are possible.

As for rain... a moist air mass will develop rapidly across the
region early Tuesday... with the southerly flow likely producing some
light showers or drizzle. The heaviest precipitation just ahead of
the systems cold front will begin moving from northwest to southeast
over the region Tuesday morning... and exit the area late Tuesday
evening... producing a period of 3 to 8 hours of moderate rain. Rain
totals with this system should range from 0.25 to 1.00 inch across
coastal and valley areas... and from 0.50 to 1.50 inches in the
mountain areas. The highest totals are expected over the favored
south-facing slopes of Santa Barbara and western Ventura
counties... and the Santa Lucia mountains of San Luis Obispo
County... where isolated amounts to around 2.00 inches are possible.

Snow levels ahead of the cold front will likely start above 8000
feet early Tuesday morning with the ample southerly flow... and lower
to 6000 to 7000 feet through the day Tuesday... with isolated snow
levels down to 5000 feet possible over the interior mountain slopes.
After the front passes... snow showers may develop with snow levels
between 4500 and 5500 feet... with the lowest snow levels and
potential for wrap around moisture from the east on the backside of
the Los Angeles and Ventura County mountains Wednesday morning. Snow
totals between 3 and 7 inches are most likely above 6000 feet... with
the higher amounts expected on the backside of the mountains.

With the track of the low... the most unstable air and associated
risk of thunderstorms should stay off the coast... but cannot
completely discount a stray lightning strike or two within the
heaviest rain due to the fairly strong divergence aloft.

For updates on this Pacific storm system... please stay tuned to
the latest National Weather Service forecasts and statements on
this developing weather situation.

905 PM PST sun Feb 5 2012

... A wet weather pattern to develop across southwest California
Tuesday...

A storm system over the east central Pacific will move east into
southwest California through Tuesday. A cool... wet... and
unsettled weather pattern will develop from the west to east
Tuesday and Tuesday night.

Southerly flow developing ahead of the storm systems cold front will
increase across the area Tuesday morning. Breezy conditions will
be prominent in the coastal and valley locations Tuesday... with
windy conditions possible across the mountains. The strongest
winds will likely impact the Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo
County mountains on Tuesday... with potentially damaging gusts
occurring.

Ahead of the front... a moist air mass will develop rapidly across
the region late Monday night or early Tuesday... with the southerly
flow likely allowing for orographic lift to produce some light
showers or drizzle.

The systems cold front will begin moving from west to east over
the region during the morning or early afternoon hours on
Tuesday... likely exiting the area late Tuesday night. At this
time... a period of between 4 and 8 hours of moderate rain is
expected across the area. Precipitation amounts with this system
will range from 0.25 to 0.75 inch across coastal and valley
areas... to up to between 1 inch and 1.50 inches in the mountain
areas. Local amount up to 2 inches are possible across favored
south-facing slopes of Santa Barbara and western Ventura counties.

Ahead of the cold front... the snow level will likely start near
9000 feet on Monday night... but will drop to 6000 feet by Tuesday
morning as evaporative cooling develops. Behind the front... snow
levels will lower between 4500 and 5500 feet on Tuesday afternoon
and Tuesday night. The lowest snow level will likely occur along
the northern slopes of the mountains and north of Point
Conception... and few flurries or snow showers cannot be ruled out
for the Tejon Pass and over the highest elevations of Highway 33
in Ventura County. Several inches of snow may fall above 6000
feet.

Behind the cold front... a cold and unstable air mass aloft will
move into the area on Tuesday night and early Wednesday. Isolated
thunderstorms cannot be ruled over the coastal waters and mainly
Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties. With some divergence
in the finer details between computer models... any mention of
thunderstorms has been left out of the forecast for now... but may
be added in the near future.

For updates on this Pacific storm system... please stay tuned to
the latest National Weather Service forecasts and statements on
this developing weather situation.