Update: It was a fairly convective day on Saturday, but mostly over San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara counties where an axis of moisture and instability converged.
The moisture was fairly high based and produced mostly virga. There was some dry lightning and two wildfires were started by it in eastern San Luis Obispo County. The convection has greatly diminished and now there are just some remnant showers that will fade.
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Hello, Central Coast! We are starting to see temps begin to lower in the interior as the ridge of high pressure continues to shift eastward. However, the coastal comments
have been much cooler due to the marine layer influence. Let's dive in!
Weather headlines:
-Scattered showers and thunderstorms in Southern California are expected to diminish early this evening, with only a slight chance of it occurring Sunday afternoon across northeast Los Angeles County.
-A cooling trend will continue across the area through at least Tuesday before a warming trend develops for the end of next week.
-Extreme heat may occur across the interior by next weekend.
Extended forecast:
Saturday was a very active day with numerous thunderstorms and very little rain. This is particularly concerning for the interior areas where the fuels are rapidly drying and lightning strikes could easily spark a fire. Thunderstorms have been mostly focused on the western portion of the area today, including Santa Barbara and western Ventura County.
Models have indicated that the convective activity may continue in the region through the early evening before settling down overnight as the air mass stabilizes.
The Fire Weather Warning in San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara Counties ends at 9 p.m. on July 13th.
The Excessive Heat Warning in San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara Counties also ends at 9 p.m. on July 13th.
Based on current satellite and radar models, southern Los Angeles County and eastern Ventura County are much less likely to get convective activity today. Most of the storms have dropped very little rain, but as updraft speeds increase through the afternoon and tap into more moisture aloft, there could be some brief heavy showers as well as hail and gusty winds.
On Sunday, the flow aloft begins to head south and precipitable waters decrease. A fairly quiet day is expected weather-wise with continued cooler temperatures in the interior valleys.
Beaches will see highs in the 50s and 60s.
Our coastal valleys will see highs in the 60s and 70s. However, the Santa Ynez Valley will range see highs over the mid-80s.
The interior valleys will see highs in the 80s and 90s.
No significant weather issues are expected early next week as the high pressure that's been over the west weakens and shifts far enough east to help bring temperatures down closer to normal levels. In fact, by Monday most areas will be 2-4 degrees below normal.
Have a great day, Central Coast!
