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Hazardous surf builds along the coast through midweek

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A weak cold front will produce mostly cloudy skies and cooler daytime highs across the Central Coast.

The passing front may also bring light, scattered showers for San Luis Obispo County but generally, the system will not result in any measurable rain amounts. The northwest tip of the county, perhaps Hearst Castle and San Simeon, may have the best chance of seeing some light rain midday Monday.

Daytime highs are in the upper 50s to low 60s with plenty of cloud cover and a light afternoon breeze.

High surf continues to be the most important part of the forecast this week. The Central and South Coast are under a high surf advisory through 3 a.m. Tuesday. West-facing beaches in SLO County and northern Santa Barbara County may see waves 12-16 ft. with local sets to 18 ft.

Santa Barbara's South Coast will see 5-8 ft swells and an increased risk for dangerous rip currents.

W-NW swell peaks Tuesday and the advisory will be upgraded to a high surf warning along the Central Coast from 3 a.m. Tuesday to 9 a.m. Wednesday. Hazardous breaking waves 15-20 ft. with sets 22+ ft. are possible.

Minor coastal flooding of low-lying areas may result from the big surf. Another peak in the swell is expected Friday.

Northerly flow will increase overnight into Tuesday isolated winds gusts to 20 mph. Another storm system Wednesday is forecast to track northward and miss our area.