One last day of heat Monday, cooling off this week

It will be a clear and hot Monday. The heat wave continues for most of the area as temperatures remain 5-15 degrees above average. Highs warm into the mid to upper 80s in Santa Barbara, other coastal communities warm into the 60s and 70s. While the entire area is no longer under a heat alert, the Santa Barbara South Coast is still under a Red Flag Warning, it will expire at 11pm Monday. Fire dangers are still heightened as strong sundowner winds occur tonight along with the hot and dry conditions. We have an Excessive Heat Warning and Heat Watch in effect for inland portions of the Central Coast. These watches and warnings will be allowed to expire at 8pm.

A significant cooling trend begins Tuesday. High pressure begins to break down and move to the east. This means onshore flow will return and will cause temperatures to fall 5-10 degrees. The marine layer will be back and hugs the entire coast for a few hours each morning. Visibility may be impaired as dense fog will develop as well. This will help the beaches stay into the 60s and 70s while inland areas still warm into the 80s and 90s. Sundowner winds die off and it should be a pleasant and mostly sunny afternoon.

Wednesday will be even cooler! Temperatures fall back closer to average and stronger onshore flow helps those clouds stick around a little longer. Rinse and repeat through the extended forecast, it will be a mild and overcast weekend!