Good morning, Central Coast!
To kick off the morning there is some dense fog and cloud cover across much of the coastal valleys and beaches. While this will "burn off" quickly the impact will be dramatic when comparing afternoon high temps.
Where the marine influence persists temps will warm slightly from the previous days but still be very comfortable on the whole. In the interior valleys where the cooler marine air was unable to reach will warm up significantly and for the first time this year bring significant heat risk.
Interior valleys will warm up about 10 degrees from yesterday's highs to today's. Paso Robles will reach into the upper 90s and I would not be surprised if San Miguel hit 100 today. But keep in mind this is just the start of a days long warming trend as a high pressure banishes the marine air from the interiors.
This heat has lead to the National Weather Service issuing advisories across much of the state. Widespread areas up to 110 is expected over the next few days. Just look at how widespread this heat is...
In our neck of the woods there an excessive heat watch has been issued for the interior valleys of SLO County as well as for the Cuyama Valley in Santa Barbara County. I expect this to be upgraded to an excessive heat advisory or warning over the next couple of hours but if this watch holds it will stay in effect through 8 pm Sunday night.
While the interiors bake over the next few days the coastal valleys will continue to see morning marine cloud cover and cooling that will moderate those temperatures significantly.
The highs today in the upper 90s will get another boost for Friday climbing another 10 degrees. Friday Saturday and Sunday will all bring highs upwards of 100. Take precautions in this heat, be sure to stay hydrated and limit heat exposure.
By the end of the weekend the high pressure driving this system will weaken and give way to a cooler air mass that will decent from the North Pacific. This will once again strengthen the marine influence so that it is able to reach into the interior valleys once again. This will cool temps significantly and take temps closer (but not all the way) to normal by the 4th of July.
Diving into the forecast for July 4th, temps look to be comfortable, especially compared to what we have seen recently. 60s along the beaches, 70s for the coastal valleys, and Southcoast, and 80s for the interiors.
The low pressure and marine influence that will help keep temps more comfortable for the 4th also means that cloud cover is a concern for evening firework displays. I think that it is too early to call it but clouds will likely be high enough to not tamper too much with the evening festivities. That being said this far out things are bound to change. The first look weather team will be keeping a close eye on the finer points of that cloud cover as the forecast comes into more detail.
Have a wonderful day Central Coast!
