Good Morning, Central Coast!
Sunday brought some gloomy conditions across the Central Coast as a passing cold front kicked off scattered showers beginning early and lasting though the day into this morning. As of this morning (around 5am) scattered showers are continuing and will last into the early afternoon as the main cold front pushes south.
While we can't show full rain totals yet (as it is still raining) most locations picked up between a tenth and half an inch of rain. The highest totals got some additional help from topography pushing the storms up in the atmosphere. Up to date rain totals can be found at this link.
As the precipitation lingers this morning the real concern is lowering snow levels. There is the possibility of at least 1-2 inches between 2500-3000 feet Monday morning which could wreak havoc on early morning driving conditions through mountain pass areas such as along Highway 14 and the 138 from Pearblossom to Palmdale. For the Central Coast the threat is greatest in the interior valleys of Santa Barbara County. Due to this risk there is a winter weather advisory in place until 3 PM for the interior valleys and highest elevations in Santa Barbara County.
Asside from the rain there is a little fog in place for the morning commute in the interior valleys. Take caution when the visibility falls on these roads.
Daytime highs will remain chilly Monday, 40s are expected in the interiors with 50s elsewhere, but it's really the overnight lows that remain a concern. Much of the interiors will see the low 30's or even the upper 20's which will cause some frost issues as well.
Wednesday is looking like a better day after another frosty start with high pressure building along the West Coast and slight warming across the entire region.
High pressure looks like it will be short-lived though with increased cloud cover and a chance of rain on Friday that looks weak but models are showing the possibility of a second system later in the weekend that has the potential to be stronger.
Have a great day Central Coast!
