What a difference a day makes. The last couple of days temps were in the 60s with some scattered low 70s for highs. Today winds shifted back onshore, clouds rolled in and temps fell. Radar is already picking up the first few raindrops of an active period of the forecast Friday into Sunday morning.
Rainfall through Friday looks to be less than .50” with some inland areas getting less than .10”
Through Sunday the rainfall accumulation could be .50-1” with a few places topping an inch.
Snow levels initially are rather high, but Saturday night they drop down to about 3500 ft. There isn’t much of the system left at that time but winter weather advisories could be needed. Something to keep an eye on.
However, elsewhere in California, this will be a huge winter storm. Parts of The Sierra could see 70+” of snow.
Locally, we are not talking about flooding rain here. Unlike the storms of early February, the weekend activity is not supplied by a warm atmospheric river. Peak rainfall rates likely stay under .25”/hour.
The changes to the forecast today include extending the rain potential into Saturday morning (maybe even afternoon) as the trough may not lift out quickly. The other change is slowing the next potential system back to Thursday. So, Monday-Wednesday appears dry.
High temperatures Friday through the weekend will be in the mid-50s to about 60 degrees.
Along with the cool, showery, and windy weather Friday through Saturday, waves will also build to about 10-18ft and a surf advisory has been issued from 4a Friday through 4a Monday for the west-facing beaches of the Central Coast.
A wind advisory has also been posted for the interior Friday night through the weekend.
