The Central Coast is experiencing partly to mostly cloudy skies today, with a chance of light rain or drizzle. This pattern will continue through Friday. However, warmer temperatures are on the way, expected from Saturday through the middle of next week, though still slightly below normal across the coast and valleys.
Today's Cloud Cover and Rain Potential
Our region is under the influence of a deep, moist layer of air, extending up to 9000 feet. While most of this is cloud cover, only a few reports of light rain are coming in thru the entire region.
Given this setup and the latest high-resolution models, precipitation chances today are lower but not zero, with the highest probabilities at higher elevations. The boundary off the Central Coast could bring some rain locally. Otherwise, expect a cool and mostly cloudy day, with increasing clearing from the north through San Luis Obispo and northern Santa Barbara Counties.
Looking Ahead: Friday and Saturday
The upper low that has been influencing our weather is forecast to shift further east.
- Friday: RDry northerly flow will establish, and atmospheric pressure will rise. This will lead to decreasing cloud cover and mostly sunny skies by the afternoon. Temperatures will increase somewhat, but remain below normal.
- Saturday: A weak ridge of high pressure and weak offshore flow will arrive. Guidance suggests some coastal marine layer clouds are possible, but they may be limited due to insufficient time for the marine inversion to set up. Rising heights, weak offshore flow, and sunny skies will bring further warming.
Next Week's Outlook
The extended forecast, Sunday through Wednesday, shows good agreement between models. A series of troughs will move through the Pacific Northwest, bringing weak, but dry, onshore flow over the Central Coast. Marine clouds are something beaches and near coastal valleys should expect night thru morning hours (and they could be stubborn to clear at beach communities).
Temperatures will gradually warm through the period, with the warmest days likely being Sunday and Monday. However, these temperatures will still be a few degrees below normal. By Tuesday and Wednesday, heights will be falling again, bringing the possibility of some cooling, especially west of the mountains.
