Good Morning Central Coast!
As we kick off our Wednesday morning there are very mild conditions across the region. Clear skies are free from dense fog as all of the fog in the region is limited to the central valley in the Tule fog that they know so well.
The interior valleys are starting off in the low 30s and 20s but the coasts are significantly warmer. This change is thanks to some winds that are pushing that cold air down to the coasts. In this process that air gets compressed and warms up significantly. Lows in the coastal valleys are in the upper 30s and 40s.
The strong winds are just on the threshold for an advisory with gusts up to 45 mph. Sustained winds are expected from the NE 15-30 mph. There is a wind advisory in place until 10AM for some of the coastal valleys in San Luis Obispo County.
The last week or so the Central Coast has been on the cool side with lows in the 30s for many and highs in the 50s and 60s. As we push toward Christmas weekend the temperatures look primed to climb. Looks like 70s are likely for the Christmas weekend, mid-70s for some on the Central Coast before cooling toward the middle of next week.
Not a lot is going on with our weather, (especially compared to the intense cold and snow that is sweeping across the rest of the country). Check in on your travel plans it will be impactful.
There is a low-pressure system off the CA coastline bringing clouds to us but showers to parts of Northern California. The reason we are not in on the precipitation is the building ridge of high pressure which is knocking the low-pressure system north. That ridge grows into the coming weekend. The resulting surface high pressure will clear out the skies and warm the atmosphere.
The ridge looks to slide east by the middle of next week. This will "open the door" to systems aimed at California. There has been a significant shift in the forecast just after Christmas. It now appears that a series of low-pressure systems will make a more direct line to the Central Coast. In prior model runs the consensus was that weak cold fronts were on the way for the Central Coast into the first week of 2023.
Now, it looks like the low-pressure centers will be much further south and the dynamics much better for meaningful rainfall, some models are over an inch thru the first week of Jan. with others lower. Suffice to say this is a much more optimistic rain outlook but since this is the first day of this narrative, likely just something to watch develop over future model runs.
Have a great day Central Coast!
