It continued to be hot on Wednesday with interior valleys warming to the mid-90s and the coastal valleys delivered a blend of temperatures from 90° in San Luis Obispo to the upper 70s and Santa Maria. The Santa Ynez Valley hit temperatures near 100 but the Southcoast confounded the forecast again by failing to reach 70°, topping at 68°.
Another warm-to-hot day is expected on Thursday as the ridge of high pressure is firmly in place over the west and temperatures similar to Wednesday's highs can be expected.
Beaches are cooling a little bit with daytime highs that most beaches in the 70s but coastal valleys will be in the upper 70s to upper 80s while the interior continues to coast along in the mid-90s.
Friday should see temperatures begin to ease a bit but it's not exactly a huge drop, at least not yet. the ridge of high pressure is breaking down and the weekend arrives. Temperatures will fall dramatically with some daytime highs only in the 60s and 70s or the coming weekend and the drop in temperatures in the interior will be dramatic.
These cooler conditions last much of next week as the weather pattern flip-flops from a ridge of high pressure to a trough over The West.
The other story is the developing wave situation. Above this ridge of high pressure is a strong storm system near the Gulf of Alaska, which has produced strong winds.
The wind energy goes into the water and produces the swell. The storm system does not need to hit the central coast to deliver waves here and that's precisely what will happen from this evening into Friday morning. A surf advisory is in place until 9 AM on Friday for waves of 10 to 13 feet with maximum sets up to 16 feet.
