Offshore winds really made an influence on the weather for the Central Coast Tuesday and will again Wednesday. Ample sunshine and offshore flow drove most temps into the 70s around the region and a repeat is likely Wednesday.
Skies were mostly clear which will set the stage for more cool overnight lows but also warm daytime highs. At night clouds actually help trap the heat of the day from easily radiating off back into space. Clear skies and dry air warm and also cool quickly and that's the current scenario.
We will have some locally gusty offshore winds at 15-25mph with some localized higher gusts, but not of wind advisory criteria. In SoCal this is more of a true Santa Ana where wind speeds are worthy of advisories. The offshore winds will break down later Wednesday for cooler conditions for the second half of the week, though it will just be "cooler" not "cold".
There is an active storm path in the Pacific north of us, the PacNW is getting drilled by another atmospheric river. For us the impact is just waves generated by the storms. Enough for an advisory into Wednesday afternoon.
Thursday winds look onshore and an upper-level low will also pump in some clouds but by later Thursday into Friday we'll have to watch for more offshore flow. Not likely to kick the temps as much as right now but also not insignificant. It will push temps back toward 70 for the weekend.
Now we will have to watch this upper low for a few raindrops, I'd say the chances aren't great but they aren't 0. Even if some drops fall it won't be much.
The extended forecast is interesting. Looks like an upper low will spin away off the coast, likely pumping some clouds into California. Again, rain chances aren't 0 but close to 0. Variable clouds and mild temps are a better call at this time into the middle of next week.
Climate models like the second half of winter to be drier than the first half was.
I'll caution that seasonal forecasting is more of an outlook than a forecast but models like more ridges than troughs over The West which could block out a lot of potential systems. Stay tuned.
