Good morning Central Coast!
To kick off the morning conditions are clear for most of the region. There is a band of limited visibility bisecting Santa Barbara county with fog sitting across the Santa Ynez Valley.
Elsewhere conditions are being kept clear by strong winds, high pressure and the lack of marine influence along the beaches.
Our headline for the day is winds, several alerts are in place across the region but no matter where you are you will absolutely notice the breezy conditions today. Gusts will stay in place (up to 30mph) across much of the region today but along the southcoast the already intense winds will join with a sundowner wind event and make for wind gusts up to 50 mph in spots along the Gaviota coastline. There is a wind advisory in place for the South Coast and portions of San Luis Obispo County through 5 AM Thursday.
The direction of the wind means they will be warming winds, the air is also quite dry. A Fire Weather Warning has been issued for SW Santa Barbara County and for the mountain areas. It was a long, and mostly dry summer so the wind and heat combination along with fuel conditions means these areas will have to be monitored closely.
If you are participating in anything that may produce sparks take extreme caution today.
Additionally, there is a high surf advisory for the west-facing Central Coast beached for 10-14ft swells. This wave action is generated by a strong storm in the PacNW, and high waves are likely into Thursday.
Temps today are pretty comfortable! 80s in the interiors and into the coastal valleys with a 90 or two possible in the Santa Ynez Valley. Beaches will stay in the 70s.
Thursday afternoon the winds will begin to calm down as we start to shift our pattern once again.
Friday a low pressure system will dive south from the PacNW and drop temps to well below normal values. Alongside the cooler condition this change will also bring a chance for rain. This chance is minimal at best but still I think it is worth the mention.
Have a wonderful day Central Coast!
