All-too-often, when a big storm is predicted here, I think "I'll believe it when I see it."
But this storm ... wow! Sooooo much rain ... sooo much wind!
Yesterday was absolutely crazy, and it was the kids' first day back at school. The surrounding school districts eventually closed schools early because of road conditions throuout the area. Eventually our schools sent out a message that IF we wanted to pick up our kids early, we could ... but schools would remain open.
In downtown Templeton, there is a creek that meanders through town, mostly unseen because of trees and brush. Yesterday morning, I came to an intersection where the creek had risen above the street and I thought ... what do I do? "Turn around, don't drown" or chance it. I chanced it and won - whew! Other areas of Templeton were flooded, but none others along my particular drive.
Other areas of the county really had it bad. The Salinas River - which is bone dry most of the year - was FULL and running fast. There were landslides, mud slides into people's homes, downed trees (including huge oak trees), etc. And it's entirely possible there was a small tornado that woke many of us up in the 4:00am hour today. We have a loud fan in our bedroom that muffles noise outside, but I did hear intense winds all of a sudden. Many people in the area who heard the unmuffled noises and looked outside are certain it was a tornado ... who knows?
Today our district closed the schools, but it didn't seem necessary after all.
But saddest of all ... a local 5 year old boy got swept away in a flash flood. He and his mom were driving to school when their car got overtaken. Bystanders were able to get the mom to safety, but the boy got swept away. How incredibly heartbreaking! People are still hopeful that he's alive somewhere ... but even if he managed to get out of the river, he would have been wet and cold and I'm sure would have suffered from hypothermia. We are all nervous to hear eventual news that he's gone. :(
We get a break in the heavy rains for a couple of days, but then they are back on Friday, the weekend and into Tuesday.
As for us, we are thankful to live in a "traditional" neighborhood with streets, sidewalks and storm drains and a huge water retention basin. So, unlike our rural neighbors throughout Templeton we did have to deal with flooding, mud, etc. And we are so grateful that our many trees and long wood fence are still intact.
Here is a glimpse of how much rain we got in SLO County so far.
