Good Morning Central Coast!
To kick off our Tuesday there is some patchy dense fog that may cause a few concerns for the morning commute. That being said it is minimal and will not be nearly as impactful as the rain we have seen many of the past few mornings. There is also a few lingering storms passing through the region. These are VERY isolated but bring the small lingering chance of rain this morning.
There is a lot of energy in our oceans with breaking waves 8-14 ft as well as a dangerous rip current risk. This has extended the coastal flood advisory through 10 PM Wednesday Night. Continue to exercise caution in our oceans.
Once the few showers pass their way to the south we will begin to dry out as a ridge of high pressure takes over and will stick around for quite some time.
It comes as a surprise to no one that the January weather pattern has been very wet, 4-5+" more rain than normal for this time of the year.
The last 4 days alone delivered a few more inches to the party. SLO got hit hard as well as the SLO County's north coast hills with less in Santa Barbara county, as expected.
Skies will work to clear but will still heavily feature cloud cover and below normal temperatures Tuesday.
Wednesday will see even better clearing but temps will be sluggish to recover.
Thursday a frontal boundary pushes down the state, it is possible this creates a drop or two of rain here and there but it is a very weak opportunity. There is an inside slider change around the 25th, but it also doesn't look like a significant rain-maker. This is consistent with outlooks last week that suggest a ridge sets up in The West for the rest of the month steering rain away. It is important to note there will be a trough for the rest of the country as colder weather develops there.
It is interesting to look at the 60-month average for rain. We are near the median for the first time in a long time. Generally, we fixate too much on short-term rain totals where the medium range is really more important for things like drought. It has literally been decades since we've been near the 60-month average.
Have a great day Central Coast!
