Happy Sunday, Central Coast! Merry Christmas Eve. I hope you are having a wonderful holiday weekend with your family and friends. Here’s a quick look at what you can expect to see in the forecast for Christmas Day and the rest of the week. Christmas Day and Tuesday will be dry and warmer with near to slightly above normal temperatures. The cloud coverage is expected to increase by Tuesday with rain chances in northern areas late Wednesday into Thursday morning and all areas next Saturday. New Year's Day looks dry for now.
Christmas Eve on the Central Coast has been filled with sunny skies, light offshore flow, and near-normal temperatures in most areas. As expected, Christmas Eve will be dry and seasonably cool. High temperatures across the Central Coast are expected to range throughout the low-to-mid 60s.
As previously mentioned, Christmas Day will be dry and warmer with near to slightly above-normal temperatures. This is due to the high-pressure system that is currently out in the Pacific Ocean and slowly moving closer to the region. The high-pressure system will then begin to build into the Golden State and create some warming for some areas along the Central Coast.
There is a High Surf Advisory in place for San Luis Obispo and Santa Barabara counties through this Tuesday until 3 pm. We are expecting to see long periods of northwest swells combined with high astronomical tides each morning that will lead to minor coastal flooding through at least Tuesday. The Central Coast will also see large breaking waves of 8 to 12 feet, with surf peaking on Monday when local max sets could reach 13 feet. Northwest and West-facing beaches will see the greatest coastal flooding and surf impacts.
There is a chance we may have a recurrence of dense fog across the interior of San Luis Obispo County early Monday morning, but otherwise, the weak offshore flow should keep the area free from stratus clouds.
We are expecting to see the offshore flow weaken by Tuesday as a weak system approaches the west coast. There are increasing high clouds expected throughout the day but no rain expected is expected in the forecast. Highs will be similar to slightly cooler than Monday temps.
As you take a look at the KSBY 7 Day forecast, you can expect to see additional warming on Christmas day with highs 1 to 3 degrees above normal in most areas, and sunny skies, except for some passing high clouds at times. The warmest day of this upcoming week will be on Tuesday in most areas with highs 3 to 6 degrees above normal.
The second half of the week continues to look cooler with increasing chances of rain, especially by the weekend. A low-pressure system moving into the Pacific Northwest on Wednesday will have a weakening cold front that will move through the Central Coast late Wednesday into Thursday morning.
Don't forget to download the KSBY Microclimate App for the latest weather headlines. Have a wonderful Christmas, Central Coast!
