Last week the Central Coast saw a lot of high temperatures in the 70s and lower 80s for a few places but since then we’ve seen some showers and much cooler temperatures.
A well-forecasted reinforcing shot of cold air is still expected to arrive Tuesday. This system is currently in the Pacific Northwest, producing light rain and snow showers. This system will drop south overnight and over the course of Tuesday. This system might be cold but it is really moisture starved. A sprinkle here or there is possible but it is much more likely to be a wind maker (and therefore a wave maker).
Highs Tuesday look to be in the 50s with winds picking up out of the NW in the morning and continuing thru the day. For the Central Coast NW winds of 20-30mph with gusts to 50mph are possible prompting a wind advisory to be in place until 10 pm Tuesday. And in the Santa Barbara County mountains, passes, and canyons even high winds are possible, and a high wind warning is in place there.
The winds put energy into the water and there are high swells and waves. Both the Central and Southcoast have surf advisories in place into Wednesday. 14-18ft for the Central Coast with local sets to 18ft possible. For the Southcoast it is a 4-7ft. forecast with that advisory also in place thru Wednesday evening.
There is also a freeze watch in place for Tuesday night into Wednesday for cold morning lows in the Santa Maria and Lompoc valleys.
After this cold and windy weather, there will be a minor rebound on temps but another cold system drops in Friday for more light shower potential. More significant warming is possible for the weekend with some mid-60s prospects returning for some in the forecast.
