Weather headlines:
-Large systems passing through the western United States will bring multiple episodes of strong to damaging winds and dangerous fire-weather conditions to portions of California over the next several days.
-The forecast will remain mostly dry through next week.
Detailed forecast:
Significant jet energy is extending through the backside of an upper trough slowly shifting eastward over the Great Basin early this weekend.
A jet streak will be entering the base of the trough Saturday night and into Sunday over Arizona, leaving Southern California with ample surface ridging building from the Central California Valley to the Central Great Basin.
The strong upper-level support and offshore pressure gradients Sunday will support 60-80-mph damaging wind gusts from the northwest-to-north from the I-5 corridor through the Ventura County Mountains to the Santa Barbara County Interior Mountains and the eastern Santa Ynez Range this evening through Sunday afternoon.
As a result, a High Wind Warning has been issued for Santa Barbara County until 6 p.m. on Sunday.
On Sunday, the eastward shift of the surface ridge across the central Great Basin will turn more strongly offshore.
In turn, winds will veer to a northeasterly direction, with the stronger winds focusing across Santa Ana wind-prone areas.
Downslope drying in this pattern will combine with the strong to damaging winds to produce critical fire-weather conditions.
Low to midlevel winds are forecast to weaken later Monday into Tuesday.
Minimal temperature changes are expected day-to-day, with a slight warming trend through the early parts of the upcoming week.
High temperatures by Tuesday should be in the 70s in most areas.
In conjunction with the aforementioned expansion of surface ridging amid the drying deep-layer profile, ample nocturnal radiational cooling will allow Sunday night low temperatures to reach the 30-32F range warranting a Freeze Watch for Southern Salinas Valley, San Luis Obispo County Interior Valleys, and the Antelope Valley.
Otherwise, the strong subsidence-induced drying will prevent precipitation development.
