Tourists and law enforcement brace for storm impacts on the Central Coast

CENTRAL COAST, Calif. (KION-TV) Tourists and local law enforcement agencies are bracing for the rain coming to the Central Coast this week.

Dina Patton and Kathleen Johnson were visiting a friend here on the Central Coast. They both made the decision to head back home to Placerville a day early due to the storm.

"We were going to stay an extra day after Christmas and meet a friend," Patton said. "We got notified this morning that the storm was going to come in."

There will be significant amount of rain coming this week. CHP Santa Cruz Public Information Officer Israel Murillo says his department is prepared for the wet weather.

"We'll make sure our windshields are probably working," Murillo said. "We'll make sure our tires are in great condition, we'll make sure our lights are working."

According to Murillo, CHP Santa Cruz responded to 10 traffic accidents throughout Santa Cruz County.

None of those accidents were fatal but warns drivers to take safety measures to drive in the rain.

"When driving on the roadways, we ask the community to slow down, watch your speed, give sufficient space between themselves and other vehicles on the roadway," Murillo said.

CHP Santa Cruz does plan on having more officers on the roads during this week's storm.

Phil Crosbie is traveling back to Southern California as he hopes to beat the storm. He will not be driving on Highway 1 as he is planning to avoid the Big Sur coast.

"We are going to avoid Big Sur because of the mudslides are possible," Crosbie said. " I don't want to get stuck."