See dramatic 1969 flood images from SLO County.

On January 18th, 1969, Telegram Tribune readers opened their newspaper to a mild weather forecast. Unsettled weather is expected to spread into Northern California and over the remainder of Central California today, but is not expected in Southern California. What forecasters did not foresee was that the storm of the century was already hitting the Central Coast. The skies unleashed a record-breaking deluge. Over 55 inches of rain that season, more than double the annual average, established a mark that stands to this day. Over 10 inches of rain fell over the next two days. San Luis Creek surged up out of its underground channel below Higueras Street. Businesses and homes were flooded. In Paso Robles, Elijah Holmes and Albert Williams both lost houses. Heine Nielsen, age 78, escaped his house 15 minutes before it washed into the raging Upper Lopez Canyon. He spent the night in the rain with a flashlight, four Lifesaver candies, and his faithful dog, Lopez. They were rescued the next day by neighbors, who rigged a flood control trolley to winch him across the floodwaters. Avila Beach, Cambria, Pismo Beach, and Morro Bay were all hard hit. The county lost five bridges that year. Why was the forecast so wrong? The Weather Bureau officials later explained that accurate predictions relied heavily on surface observations. And with few ships traveling in the path of the storm, critical data was missing. But then, as today, computer models cannot stop the rain.