Good morning Central Coast! Happy Christmas Eve, there is a ton going on today with rain, winds, waves, and even dense fog impacting the Central Coast today.
Before I get to all of that if you and your little ones are tracking Santa, here is a look at the NORAD Santa Tracker!
Here is a look at your interactive radar!
Here is a quick discussion of the forecast from Meteorologist Vivian Rennie!
Now into the forecast, Monday the main headline was surf, that is still an active concern today with slight calming this morning but still localized sets up to 18 ft expected through noon today. Here is a look at the wave heights as of 5:30 a.m.
That is enough that the High Surf Warning is still in place through noon today. At that point, a High Surf Advisory will take over for all beaches (right now only in effect for our Southcoast communities. The advisory will stay in place through 9 p.m. Wednesday.
There is also a Coastal Flood Advisory in place through 9 a.m. this morning for our Western Beaches. That is thanks to the risk of some waves inundating low-lying coastal areas.
Turning to the rain, a weak storm system is pushing through the region bringing widespread light rain. The majority of that is falling to our north but we can expect around a third of an inch of rain while the far southcoast will pick up just hundreds of an inch.
Alongside the rain we also have some strong winds. This will bring gusts upwards of 50 mph for the mid-morning as the cold front pushes through. The worst of that will be felt along the Gaviota coastline.
With all of those changes, today will also be much cooler than we've seen recently. This is a noticeable shift. We had some temps in the 80s last week, today just upper 60s with a 60 or two thrown in.
By tomorrow morning skies will clear. Christmas Day and Thursday should be sunny and dry but on the cool side. We might still have some lingering gusty winds, particularly in the mountains.
Starting Friday, we'll see a gradual warming trend through the weekend and into next week. Expect temperatures in the 70s for inland valleys and the mid-to-upper 60s along the coast.
There's a slight chance of light showers on the Central Coast later Friday and again on Sunday, but overall, it's looking mostly dry through the first week of January.
Have a wonderful day Central Coast!
