Good morning, Central Coast!
Grab an extra layer or two this morning, temps are once again frigid across the region, plus surf and winds are set to make an impact for the second half of the forecast.
First tackling the cold...
The Central Coast started the week with hard freeze conditions in the interior and Tuesday morning looks to be even colder. This morning, coastal valleys and some beach communities will also have significant freeze concerns.
A hard freeze warning is in place for the interiors last night through this morning where overnight lows will drop into the mid-20s. Those kinds of cold conditions can kill plants but also burst pipes.
Coastal valleys including the Lompoc Valley Santa Maria Valley and Santa Ynez Valley along with San Luis Obispo and the Edna Valley have a freeze warning in place this morning. While temperatures may not be as cold as the interior valleys, they will be cold enough to damage plants potentially. People in this advisory area should also consider precautions against the overnight cold conditions.
Despite the cold start, there will be plenty of sunshine on Tuesday pushing daytime highs back into the 50s and low 60s for most of the area.
There are a few systems that are pushing through the region this week, they may produce a few scattered showers Wednesday night into early Thursday but that will not be too much of a concern.
Wednesday's front could produce a few scattered showers but more importantly, the two frontal boundaries will crank up the winds across the area.
The area of most concern is the Santa Barbara County mountains and the southwestern portion of the county. A wind advisory is in place from 10:00 AM Tuesday to 4:00 PM Wednesday for the SW portion of Santa Barbara County including the Gaviota Pass and the Santa Ynez mountains. Winds 20 to 30 mph can gust to 55 mph during the wind advisory.
Following the wind advisory, a high wind warning is likely for the mountains and the southwestern portion of Santa Barbara County. Right now, that area is under a high wind watch from 4:00 Wednesday through late Thursday for winds out of the northwest 25 to 35 with gust potential to 60 and 70 mph. The key concern would be that damaging winds can blow down large objects such as trees and power lines.
Today's waves are not too much of a concern but by tomorrow morning another swell will have arrived bringing waves cresting 15 to 17 ft. Those waves will pair with high tides (not quite king tides, those are the 11th and 12th with high tides up to 7.2 ft).
This will make for yet another hazardous set of days at our beaches, thankfully this will be less concerning than the December 28-30th event.
A high surf advisory is in place from 9 PM Tuesday to 9 AM
Friday. large breaking waves of 10 to 15 feet Wednesday and 12 to 17 feet Thursday with dangerous rip currents.
A Coastal Flood Advisory is also in place from 3 AM Wednesday to
noon Thursday. Minor coastal flooding expected at the time of the morning high tides.
Looking into the extended forecast temperatures hover in the 50s and low 60s for most of the area into the weekend and early next week. Another weak frontal boundary is possible this weekend which could produce a few showers but right now the chances of that are roughly 10%. Mid-range modeling shows some activity in The West but no large storms are anticipated for the Central Coast.
Have a great day Central Coast!
