Good morning Central Coast!
There is a lot going on, lets dive in!
This morning is a cold one for the interior valleys, some dipping into the upper 20s.
You will want that extra layer as you head out the door but will not need it for long. Temps will once again warm quickly. Upper 60s are expected in the interiors and at the beaches while most coastal valleys will reach into the 70s.
Highs will climb a bit more over the next few days, more 70s and broken sunshine continues through Saturday.
Now to what your probably actually want to know about, the rain on the way.
A massive pattern shift is knocking on our door, this will bring downright soggy weather to the Central Coast for much of next week and continue a wet pattern through the rest of the month.
A series of storms will push through the region bringing everything from light drizzle to dramatic thunderstorms.
The first of the storms makes its way in on a large cold front Sunday afternoon, this brings scattered showers for most of the region as well as the chance for a stray thunderstorm as the unstable air hits the Santa Lucias.
Continued rain is expected from this first storm through Tuesday. Aside from the first impulse of rain the key to this portion of the pattern is longevity and consistent rain chances.
On Wednesday the pattern changes to a bit more problematic rain. A stronger front will plunge south (likely qualifying as an atmospheric river) Wednesday alongside very strong southerly winds. All of this combined brings much more intense rain potential. Potentially several inches in the span of 24 hours. Thankfully it will not stick around for too long, by late next week we will get a bit of break from the rain ahead of a few storm chances just after Christmas.
As far as rain totals go, there are a lot of different storms that will bring rain over the next 10 days so these numbers are expected to change. One aspect that models agree on is that is going to be a significant amount of rain. The first system Sunday through Tuesday will bring as little as 1/3" to the southcoast while the higher elevations in northern SLO county can expect as much as 2 inches of rain!
Adding all the storms together most locations will see between 2 and 6 inches of rain between Saturday and the 23rd.
That is a lot of rain with substantially more potential at ridge tops and peaks, I expect advisories, watches and warnings to be issued in advance of this storm.
For people concerned about water management there is time to prepare. Another great way to prepare is to make sure you have multiple ways of receiving alerts. Download the KSBY Microclimate Weather App to make sure you get the most up to date alerts for your location!
Getting to what is typically in these stories, here is a look at all that together in the 7-day-forecast!
Generally, the forecast looks really nice moving into the weekend with more daytime highs in the upper 60s and low 70s likely. All that changes Sunday as the rain moves into our region.
Have a wonderful day!
