Friday evening forecast – Feb. 26th

Northerly winds will increase across portions of the forecast area through Saturday. By Saturday evening, a moderate to potentially strong Santa Ana wind event will develop and continue through Sunday. Winds will weaken some early next week with a chance for precipitation by midweek.

Friday night we have gusty winds for the Santa Barbara South Coast and mountains. A wind advisory is in place for the Santa Barbara South Coast and mountains until 3 Saturday morning. Ventura County mountains have a wind advisory upgraded to a high wind warning Saturday night into 3PM Sunday.

There will be a large upper level trough developing over the Great Basin through Sat. The upper level trough is forecast to sharpen over Arizona Saturday night and strengthen into an upper level low on Sunday, with a strong northerly flow aloft over the forecast area. A weak upper level ridge will move into the area Sunday night into early Monday. This ridge and low will keep our area under strong northerly flow through the weekend. Expect gusty to breezy conditions both Saturday and Sunday.

Mostly clear skies will prevail across the forecast area tonight through Monday. Temperatures will be above average primarily in the upper 60s to low 70s for highs on both Saturday and Sunday.

There is potential for a mid-week weather system that may bring rain into our area Tuesday night into Wednesday. Mainly for southern Santa Barbara County and Ventura County. A t this time due to the lingering uncertainties, forecast precipitation amounts are difficult to predict but should be mostly on the light side and generally less than 0.20 inch. Stay tuned as we will continue to update our forecast as we get closer to the event.