Hey, Central Coast! Happy Sunday. Hope you are all enjoying the rest of your weekend. Here’s a quick breakdown of what you can expect to see in the forecast tonight and our transition into the new work week. This afternoon, a storm system brought light rain to areas north of Point Conception and it will spread across the remainder of the Central Coast tonight into early Monday. A stronger storm system is expected around the middle of the work week with a slight chance of thunderstorms. Let’s dive in!
The first storm we are expecting on the Central Coast will run from Sunday through Tuesday and then the second one will begin to impact the area Tuesday night through Wednesday. The first storm will work its way northeastward through Tuesday and will be heading towards northern California and Oregon. Moisture rotating around this low will bring some decent rainfall to the area through Tuesday, especially across San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara counties.
The latest precipitation model shows that we are expecting to see about 1.00-2.50 inches of rain across San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara counties, especially in upslope areas.
On Monday at 11 am, San Luis Obispo should expect to have 1 inch of rain. By Tuesday late morning, Paso Robles and Isla Vista are also expected to see more of an inch of rain.
While the system continues to slowly move into the region, it did bring cloudy conditions to the Central Coast. Some areas did see some warmer temps today due to a high-pressure system sitting below the region, which caused some ridging in southern California and caused some cities like Santa Maria, Lompoc, and Santa Barbara to have highs in the upper 70s.
For Tuesday night into Wednesday, the second storm is expected to be much more potent and will be dropping southward off the coast. By Wednesday evening, the center of the upper low is forecast to be about 350-400 miles west of Point Conception. As this system moves to the south, moist southerly flow will increase across the area. We are expecting to see an increasing amount of rainfall across the Central Coast by then.
For the Tuesday night through Wednesday evening time frame, rainfall totals will generally range between 0.50 and 1.50 inches with up to around 2.50 inches in the more favored upslope areas.
Unstable air, associated with the upper low, may bring a threat of thunderstorms to the Central Coast late Tuesday night and Wednesday.
Have a wonderful day, Central Coast! Don't forget to download the KSBY Microclimate App for the latest weather headlines.
