Saturday Evening Forecast
What a difference one week makes! Last weekend we were seeing winds and widespread record breaking heat. Now, Mother nature has decided to remind us that this is Winter! A very weak system is currently pushing to our south with some lingering scattered showers. Most areas on Saturday picked up very light amounts with some getting upwards of about two-tenths on the Central Coast. Lows will be chilly as we head in to Sunday along with an increase in wind from the northwest. Look for highs to only reach in to the 50's and low 60's in most areas. More showers are expected by late Sunday with a very low snow level as well. The National Weather Service has issued a Winter Storm Watch for the mountains of Santa Barbara and Ventura Counties which will last well in to Monday. There is also a Frost Advisory for portions of Ventura County through at least early Sunday.
Looking ahead, the storm door has finally opened back up! Expected another light to moderate storm system to linger in to Monday with most areas seeing about another tenth to hopefully a quarter of an inch of rain. Some areas could see more and snow levels will possibly drop to under 2000-feet! This could affect roadways including the Grapevine or I-5. We all know too well that means heavy traffic diverts over to our very 101 and it can get extremely busy! We will keep a close eye on that and update as needed. Temperatures will continue to stay on the chilly side and winds from the northwest could be a little gusty as well. Tuesday looks quiet with just the colder than normal temperatures sticking around.
The next and best chance for significant rainfall shows up by Wednesday. A solid wave of moisture will drift in from the north and also possibly fed with a good moisture plume from the southwest. The key will be the exact positioning of both the low pressure center and moisture plume from the south. For now, it looks like the direct target is Big Sur and in to Southern California! That is perfect for our region to pick up really good rain amounts. We could see multiple inches from Wednesday through possibly Friday or even Saturday. Of Course this could end being too much and flood issues would then be a concern. We are on our toes in the First Alert Weather center and will be updating the forecast as needed up to and through the expected storm systems headed our way!
