A pleasant & calm Friday before an active weekend
Theres a lot to talk about this Friday as hurricane Hilary rapidly intensifies and makes its way towards California. Before diving into all the data lets talk about conditions for the day. Clouds and the marine layer will be present early on in the morning, better clearing by lunch and very typical August temperatures. Highs will be in the middle to upper 60s and low 70s near the beaches, with 90s and triple digits inland. Now for the nitty gritty of hurricanes Hilary. The National Hurricane Center has now upgraded Hilary to a Category 4 hurricane. Sustained winds are upwards of 140mph. The storm is set to move over warmer ocean temperatures, near 80 degrees, helping to keep the storm alive and strong. It will be imperative to watch this storm develop over the next 12 hours.
Saturday will be very mild here along the Central Coast with temperatures similar to Friday. Some fog will impact the coast early on but more sunshine in the afternoon. The main focus for the day will be how hurricane Hilary continues to develop. The Hurricane will be moving over cooler water off the coast of California and this will stunt the growth and development of the storm. The hurricane will then weaken and become a tropical storm by the time it makes landfall. Some moisture may work its way into the region by the evening, if rain does develop its likely it will form near Ventura or Los Angeles Counties and rain looks to be minimal. The brunt of this storm will develop Sunday into Monday.
Sunday looks to be when Hilary will finally reach California. We can expect to see showers as early as the evening. Sunday through Monday will be when the storm will bring the heaviest rain and strongest winds to the coast. Huge amounts of moisture will be streamed into the area causing showers and thunderstorms throughout the region. South facing beaches, the southern half of the Santa Ynez mountains and burn scar areas will be hit the hardest and will have the most impacts. The National Weather Service has issued a flood watch for the Santa Ynez mountains, Ojai Valley and Ventura county. This will go into effect Sunday evening and continues into Monday evening. Periods of heavy rain can cause flood risks, keep this in mind and plan accordingly.
