Quiet Friday before Hilary arrives
Temperatures began to slowly trend cooler on Thursday, with milder conditions expected by Friday. The pattern of night to morning low clouds and fog will persist, followed by mostly sunny skies by the afternoon. Daytime highs on Friday will be warm inland again, with highs primarily in the 90s. Coastal areas will cool down slightly, with highs in the 60s and 70s. Benign weather is expected until Saturday before an unusual system hits parts of California.
Hurricane Hilary has been rapidly increasing in strength and will continue its Northwest track towards Southwestern California from Mexico and the Baja Peninsula. The National Weather Service's forecast, along with our computer models are increasing in confidence and consistency as we approach the weekend.
Periods of heavy of rain, strong sustained winds, thunderstorm activity, potential for flooding, elevated surf and dangerous boating conditions are of a concern as Hilary approaches California. The good news is that it will weaken as it approaches cooler waters. As of Thursday afternoon, Hilary is projected to make landfall locally as early as Sunday night with impacts into Tuesday morning. Ventura County has the highest chance of being hit hard by Hilary, with less of a chance for the Northern half of our region specifically. There will be increased humidity and mugginess, due to the tropical moisture from this system.
The National Weather Service has issued a Flood Watch ahead of Hilary for all of Ventura County and the Eastern Range of the Santa Ynez Mountains. This will be in effect from 4pm Sunday and will expire at 11pm Monday night. Projected rainfall totals are highest for the foothills, where up to four inches of rain are possible. For coastal areas, between one to two inches are possible. These numbers are subject to change. The last time an event similar to this happened was in 1939. This is a very rare weather pattern for this part of the country.
