Good morning Central Coast!
There is a lot going on across the west coast today so let's dive right in!
A massive and very powerful storm is looming to our north and will make for a soggy weekend here on the Central Coast. Right now this storm is still far to our north (aka not a big concern for today) that being said there are a lot of headlines right now about this storm so I'll take a little time explaining it here!
There is a very strong low pressure system off of British Columbia, this intensified very rapidly and that is where one of the buzzwords come in. Bomb Cyclone... that simply means that the pressure in the center of the system dropped particularly quickly. For any weather enthusiasts out there a bomb cyclene is any storm that drops 24 millibars in 24 hours. At ne point in the development of this storm the pressure dropped 58 millibars in 24 hours. Yikes!
With that drop in pressure comes a strong cold front that has fueled a nearly textbook atmospheric river. That firehose of moisture is aimed right at northern California and is expected to bring rain totals upwards of 15 inches, feet of snow and winds equivalent of a low level hurricane.
As far as our forecast is concerned this will be more significant than any other event we've had thus far this season, but it will not produce local rain amounts like it is producing in NorCal. Local rainfall Friday through Tuesday will come in waves and can produce between 0.75 and 2.5" of rain (scroll down for details on our portion of the storm).
Ahead of the storm reaching us you can expect great conditions! Today will be warmer than the last few days (thanks high pressure system) some temps will even climb towards 70 today with dry weather and some gusty winds.
We will see the shift towards cooler and wetter weather Friday as the cold front drifts south. It will loose much of the energy as it pushes south.
Friday night the storm will reach the Central Coast and bring our first impulse of rain. That will mainly be overnight into early Saturday morning and bring mainly light rain. Totals will be light (comparably) with 3/4 of an inch in the north SLO county mountains while the rest of the region is looking at less than a third of an inch.
Most of Saturday and Sunday will be dreary with some drizzle and clouds but no major accumulations. Sunday night though a low pressure system will traverse the Central Coast and bring heavier rain with some upsloping flow to enhance rain totals.
The Sunday night through Monday afternoon leg of the storm will bring heavier rain. Most spots will pick up another inch of rain. Topography will play a major role and may enhance north coast rain totals to over two inches. Here is what both of those storms will add up to.
We will see some winds and waves as well from this system.
The storm will bring a noticeable drop in temperatures. Highs will generally remain in the upper 50s to mid-60s through the weekend and into early next week.
Have a great day Central Coast!
