The New Year is starting off with pleasantly mild temperatures and mostly sunny skies across the Central Coast.
Interior valley locations may experience pockets of dense fog this morning but it should clear by about 10 a.m. Otherwise, primarily clear skies with daytimes highs in the low 60s.
Coastal valleys and the Southcoast will warm into the mid and upper 60s Friday. West facing beaches will have slightly cooler highs. The main concern along the coast is dangerously high surf.
The NWS has extended the high surf advisory through Sunday afternoon. Expect large, breaking waves 10-14 ft. through Saturday and peaking Sunday 12-16 ft. with locally higher sets. An even larger W-NW swell moves in Tuesday so anticipate another high surf warning then.
We're also watching a possibility for minor to moderate coastal flooding through Sunday, although it shouldn't cause any structural damage to low-lying areas.
This weekend, increasing mid-to-high level cloud cover and gradually cooler temperatures. Dry and mild conditions continue.
Update on the rain chances next week: It's still looking favorable enough for the Central Coast but predicted rainfall totals are backing off. The first storm moves through the Central Coast Monday afternoon/evening. Models are currently saying a tenth to a third of an inch from that system. Tuesday is a dry day. Then, another "splash & dash" storm moves through late Wednesday into early Thursday morning. Models are showing the second system will hardly add to the buckets with the Southcoast and Southern California looking unlikely to receive anything at all.