Hello, Central Coast! Low clouds cleared very slowly for the beaches and coastal valleys on Thursday. We expect wind gusts to pick up in the forecast this weekend, especially in Santa Barbara County. Inland communities should see temps warming up for the next couple of days.
Weather headlines:
-Low clouds in the Central Coast beaches and coastal valleys will clear slowly.
-Gusty north winds are expected to begin on Friday and will continue throughout the weekend, especially in portions of Santa Barbara County and the mountains.
-More sunshine and warm temps are expected on Friday and Saturday, especially inland.
Extended forecast:
There is an upper-level low just to the southwest of California. This upper-level low will move east by Friday afternoon and will cause our area to have warmer temps and zonal flow.
Strong onshore winds continued across the region on Thursday. Clearing has been fairly slow on Thursday on the Central Coast, with skies becoming mostly sunny by the late morning hours in the interior and coastal valleys, but still cloudy in some immediate beach communities.
The upper low will continue to move eastward Thursday night and Friday. Then a weak broad upper ridge will build into the region. The marine layer will likely begin to shrink in depth due to high pressure, so expect fewer low clouds Thursday night and Friday morning in the interior, with clouds likely below the coastal slopes.
With weakening onshore flow, expect faster clearing in most areas on Friday, with the sun probably making an appearance at most beach communities. On Friday, the upper-level ridge and weakening onshore flow should create a decent warm-up for the coastal valleys and will bring significant warming across the interior areas.
High temps in most valleys and mountains will be 5 to 10 degrees warmer on Friday than they were on Thursday.
There is currently a Wind Advisory in effect for Santa Barbara County until 6 p.m. on June 15, 2024.
North-south winds will increase sharply late Friday, and gusty northwest-to-north winds will reach Wind Advisory levels across the southwestern portion of Santa Barbara County’s coast, the western Santa Ynez Mountains, and through the I-5 Corridor.
Here's your KSBY 7-day forecast! We will continue to have additional warming in the forest on Saturday but temps will start to slightly drop by Sunday.
Have a great day, Central Coast!
