Friday evening forecast – Feb. 21st

Friday we started off with sunny skies and warm temperatures but as we entered the afternoon cloud cover increased and we started to see very light spotty showers.

A low pressure system is approaching southwestern California from the west this evening, with increasing clouds across the region.  Showers are expected later tonight through Saturday, with a slight chance of thunderstorms for areas south of Point Conception. Clearing is expected Sunday, followed by offshore flow with mostly clear skies and above normal temperatures through much of this coming week.

Overall, rainfall totals will be fairly light. In general, totals will range from 0.10 to 0.25 inches along the coasts and valleys, especially for points north of Point Conception. For the mountains, 0.25 to 0.50 inches can be expected, especially along favored south-facing slopes. There could be locally higher amounts in any thunderstorms.

As expected with an incoming storm system, max temps will only reach into the low and mid 60s across the coasts and valleys. 

Once the low exits Saturday night, cloud cover is expected to clear up. However, some patchy fog is possible after the rain ends through Sunday morning along the coasts and valleys. The rest of Sunday will be sunny and temperatures will rebound a few degrees, with most places in the upper 60s. There will also be some breezy northerly winds.

A slight ridge will move over the area from the east on Monday. There will be some northerly offshore winds which will be strong enough to keep low clouds away. Temperatures will shoot up to above normal for the coasts and valleys.

High pressure will remain over the area through late week keeping dry conditions and sunny skies in place once again.