Temperatures in the interior of the Central Coast have been warmer than average all week long, around 100 degrees. The Central Coast interior, and other inland areas of California, have been under heat advisories or warnings this week. There were even power flex alerts in place. Friday will be no exception for the places already bathed in heat with 100-105 likely for the warmer places.
The good news is that the weekend will offer significant relief. Not only will inland temps drop, but below-average highs are likely in the lower 90s before temps build again next week.
At beaches, the night and morning low clouds with some areas experiencing stubborn clearing continue. This will keep most beaches in the 60s for highs. Coastal valleys have been in the 70s and 80s and will likely cool a bit over the weekend before subtle warming next week.
What is the reason for the weekend dip? The ridge of high pressure in the jet stream buckles as a system rolls into the Pac NW. It is a somewhat fast mover so temps drop quickly Saturday and stay mild Sunday before the system moves out and high-pressure ridging re-develops.
The seasonal outlooks for fall and winter were updated today. Warmer and generally drier than average conditions are expected. A triple dip LaNina appears more likely than not. A triple-dip means this could be the third season in a row where cooler than average equatorial water temps shift the jet pattern in a way that typically produces lower than average rain in California. LaNinas impact other regions of the country differently.
This is important in that lake levels are lower than most would like and the Western Drought is still a serious concern. There was some minor improvement in some drought categores and increase in others, but very minor overall changes and no change locally for the Central Coast.
