Severe Thunderstorm Warning Issued for San Luis Obispo County with Possible Tornado Threat
This alert is no longer in effect.
NOAA issued it on April 6, 2026, 5 months ago. Warnings of this kind stay in effect for hours to a few days, so this page is a historical record of what was issued, not a current warning. For conditions where you are right now, check weather.gov (US), weather.gc.ca (Canada), the Met Office (UK), or the Bureau of Meteorology (Australia).
Areazine synthesizes this NWS weather alert directly from NOAA's official public data feed. See our methodology for full source attribution and refresh cadence.
The National Weather Service has issued a Severe Thunderstorm Warning for central San Luis Obispo County, warning of 60 mph wind gusts and a possible tornado through 7:45 PM PST.
Read this weather record in 30 seconds
- Record type
- Severe Thunderstorm Warning
- Affected area
- San Luis Obispo, CA
- Issued
- April 6, 2026
- Issuing authority
- NWS Los Angeles/Oxnard CA
Storm notices can cover different combinations of wind, hail, lightning, and rainfall. Use the original notice for the hazards and boundaries attached to this specific record.
Record status: historical. It was issued 5 months ago; use the issuing agency's live warning service for current conditions in San Luis Obispo, CA.
Alert Details
The National Weather Service in Los Angeles/Oxnard CA has issued a Severe Thunderstorm Warning for central San Luis Obispo County in southwestern California. The alert was triggered by radar-indicated severe thunderstorms located along a line extending from near Paso Robles to 64 miles southwest of Morro Bay.
Affected Areas
The warning impacts central San Luis Obispo County. Specific locations expected to be affected include:
- Cities and Towns: San Luis Obispo, Santa Maria, Paso Robles, Morro Bay, Pismo Beach, Atascadero, Arroyo Grande, Nipomo, Grover Beach, Oceano, Santa Margarita, Shandon, Avila Beach, Cayucos, Baywood-Los Osos, Templeton, and Shell Beach.
- Landmarks and Infrastructure: Black Mountain, Diablo Canyon, and Highway 101 over Cuesta Grade.
What You Should Do
Residents in the warned area should move to an interior room on the lowest floor of a sturdy building for protection. Remain alert for a possible tornado, as they can develop quickly from severe thunderstorms. If you spot a tornado, go at once to a basement or a small central room in a sturdy structure. Expect potential damage to roofs, siding, and trees.
Expected Conditions
- Wind: Gusts up to 60 mph are expected.
- Tornado Threat: Radar indicates that a brief weak tornado is possible.
- Hail: Radar indicates hail sizes up to 0.75 inches.
- Storm Movement: The storm line is moving east at 30 mph.
Timeline
The Severe Thunderstorm Warning is effective immediately as of 6:13 PM PST on February 17, 2026. The warning is currently scheduled to expire at 7:45 PM PST.
Original source: NOAA Official Notice ↗
Related Weather Alerts
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Two Areazine-derived peer sets for this NWS weather alert: nearest notices by body length and by same severity near the same agency date. Peers come from other categories so they are not the same-feed Related list above.
Similar body length
Nearest notices by article body length (1,618 characters here).
Similar severity timing
Same severity (high) notices issued closest in time to April 6, 2026.
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