Here's your Central Coast forecast from Meteorologist Jim Castillo for San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara Counties
A Coastal Flood Warning & a High Surf Warning mainly for Saturday. Significant coastal flooding is likely, especially around the Oceano dunes area. Large & dangerous waves of 18 to 25 feet are expected along the Central Coast.
• TONIGHT THROUGH SATURDAY MORNING: A classic cold front moves into San Luis Obispo County and sweeps southeast across Santa Barbara County overnight into early Saturday morning. Expect several hours of steady, light-to-moderate rain. Low instability keeps the thunderstorm risk almost zero, with rainfall rates near 0.25 inches per hour and isolated pockets reaching 0.50 inches per hour. Rain tapers off Friday night.
• RAINFALL TOTALS: Most coastal and valley areas across both counties will pick up between 0.25 and 0.75 inches of rain. Isolated totals up to 1.00 inch are possible in the Santa Lucia Mountains, the Santa Ynez Mountains, and the Los Padres National Forest.
• TEMPERATURES: Daytime highs remain mostly in the 60s across coastal and interior valleys, while higher elevations in the Santa Lucia and Santa Ynez mountains stay cooler in the 40s and 50s.
• WEEKEND DRYING TREND: Skies clear out from Saturday afternoon through Sunday evening as the front exits to the east, bringing dry weather for the rest of the weekend.
• Another weather system arrives Sunday night, bringing light rain through Monday and Monday night, followed by lingering spotty showers on Tuesday. Projected totals are generally 0.25 inches or less.
• Another system moves through next Wednesday night and Thursday, bringing an estimated 0.25 to 1.00 inch of beneficial rain across both counties.
• HIGH-ELEVATION SNOW: With both next week's systems, snow levels sit around 6,000 to 6,500 feet, bringing potential light snow accumulations to only the highest peaks of the Los Padres National Forest.
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Stay weather-aware, Central Coast!
-Jim
