Wind alerts issued for many parts of Central Coast, warming ahead for the weekend

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - Near to slightly above normal temperatures are expected Wednesday through Friday. Temperatures will be more mild Thursday and Friday as well, before warming further for the weekend.

A big topic of discussion for Wednesday is wind speeds that will pick in the evening lasting until Thursday. A wind advisory will go into place at 6 p.m. Wednesday, for portions of Santa Barbara county and interior areas of Ventura county. Winds will be northerly and will 20 to 30 mph with gusts up to 50 mph.

A high wind warning will go into effect by 4 p.m. for the interior areas and mountains of Santa Barbara, as well as portions of Oxnard. Wind speeds will be 30-45 mph with gusts up to 65 mph. Now is the time to bring in any items that can be easily blown over.

Winds will calm by Thursday afternoon, but may pick up on Friday and come from the northeast, resulting in dry, Santa Ana winds.

Overall, we have a great second half our work week to look forward to and keeping a close eye on those winds.