Good morning, Central Coast!
We are kicking off the work week on a great forecast with lots of sunshine and very warm temps, enjoy it though, a LOT of rain is on the way.
First looking into the immediate forecast.
The last few days have been very warm, shattering records across the region. Check out our highs from Sunday across the region.
To put that into context, typical daytime highs in Paso Robles for the end of January are just 62 degrees. I certainly count that as abnormal warmth!
Highs today will once again be very warm with many locations reaching into the mid to upper 70s. Great sunny skies and calm winds are on the forecast.
The upper-level ridge of high pressure will slowly weaken today, with weak ridging persisting into Tuesday. Skies should be clear to partly cloudy overall tonight through Tuesday with some high clouds moving through the area from time to time.
Wednesday is when things will really start to change. Winds will shift onshore and bring cooler air into the region. That will be combined with some dense fog chances for a bit of a transitional day.
Thursday morning a cold front will press into the region bringing an atmospheric river to the Central Coast. Significant heavy rain is expected to begin in the early morning and last through much of the day.
This first storm has the potential to bring us very significant rain. Broadly 1"-3" across the region with the higher end totals at peaks and along E/W running ridges.
As the first system pushes east we will see a little break, although imperfect from the heavy rain. Scattered showers are expected Friday and Saturday before another strong storm pushes through Sunday. This will be more of a direct hit from the core low pressure system (as opposed to the cold front driven system for our first storm). With that hit we are expecting to see the chance for several more inches of rain.
Even into the extended forecast significant heavy rain is expected for the Central Coast. This is all thanks to what meteorologists call a rex-block, this weather pattern features a high pressure to our north that "opens the door" for storms to impact the west coast. Without over complicating this my main take away is to be prepared, significant rain is on the way.
Don't forget to download the KSBY Microclimate Weather Appfor the latest weather headlines taking place across the Central Coast!
Have a wonderful day Central Coast!
