As advertised, the extreme heat hit the Central Coast to close the week. Thursday temperatures were just shy of 100 and today Paso Robles hit 108, only 2 degrees shy of the daily record. Average interior high temps are in the lower 90s typically this time of year.
The extreme heat warning is in place until Sunday at 8 p.m. for the interior.
The inland heat will remain on through the weekend as a ridge of high pressure remains in place.
What is interesting is that the ridge only squeezed the cooler marine air out of the interior but it is still around for beaches and near coastal valleys. Sure, the temps there have also risen but more subtly. Night and morning clouds with afternoon clearing remains the forecast for those locations. Beaches will be warmer than they have been with highs in the 60s and 70s, with 70s to mid-80s in the coastal valleys through the weekend.
There will be some minor cooling Sunday with Monday seeing temps relax further. By Tuesday, July 4, temps will be near average again.
Coastal clouds are likely early and late on the 4th. The key factor will remain the height of the base of the clouds. Currently, that base is very low due to the heat inversion in the interior. But on the 4th, the inversion will be weaker and higher, potentially giving us a cloud base high enough to launch fireworks under, but it is a little early to make a definitive marine cloud forecast as the fine details are critical for low clouds. So, stay tuned.
