The atmospheric river wasn’t as intense as expected; more possible rain on the way.

The atmospheric river that traveled through the region from Monday through early Tuesday morning didn’t pack the same punch as the storm Monterey County saw in October, but it did stall long enough over the Santa Lucia Mountains to dump up to 13 inches of rain on Mining Ridge in Big Sur, according to the National Weather Service. After dallying, the storm veered southeast away from the county and the San Francisco Bay Area.

Flooding was light with some water and mud collecting along River Road outside of Salinas, with no debris flows or mudslides reported as of Tuesday afternoon, Dec. 14. There were some minor rocks and debris on roads in Carmel Valley. An evacuation order issued by the Monterey County Office of Emergency Services the day before to a warning just after 10am on Tuesday, Dec. 14 for areas near burn scars for the River, Carmel and Dolan fires of 2020 was downgraded. The warning was kept in place “just so people don’t take their eye off the ball,” says Monterey County spokesperson Maia Carroll. It was lifted later that same day.

Blustery winds from Sunday, Dec. 12 through Tuesday, Dec. 14 were to blame for 22,000 customers in Monterey County who lost power, most of them in Monterey and Pacific Grove, according to PG&E.

The rainfall totals from Sunday night, Dec. 12 through Tuesday, Dec. 14 were 2-4 inches on average throughout the county, with the Salinas Valley receiving the smaller amount due to rain shadowing, which occurs when a nearby mountain range takes the brunt of the rainfall, says NWS Meteorologist Matt Mehle. In this case, the Santa Lucia range took most of it, with the 13 inches at Mining Ridge and other areas of the range experiencing 5-8 inches of rain.

“It was a pretty good soaking for most of the county,” Mehle says.

Lower temperatures brought snow to peaks over 3,000 feet and some light hail to lower elevations.

The atmospheric river was expected to be followed by a second storm on Wednesday, Dec. 15 and Thursday, Dec. 16 with scattered showers and possible thunderstorms. Those showers are forecast to end by Friday, Dec. 17, but then the cold sets in through Saturday with lows in the 30s around the county and even high 20s in the Salinas Valley.

The county will dry out over the weekend but “our storm door is staying open,” Mehle says, with some rain expected in the days leading up to Christmas.