Gusty winds and clear skies settle in for the Halloweekend
Some upper-level clouds will drift across SLO and Santa Barbara Counties for the second half of Friday. With increasing offshore trends, any marine layer going into Saturday morning will be patchy and minimal.
There is a wind advisory for the Southwest Coast and west Santa Ynez Range from 5:00 pm Friday to 9:00 am Saturday. Northwest winds will be 20 to 30 mph with gusts up to 45 mph.
A strong short-wave trough will move southward through Idaho, eventually winding up in northeast Nevada by Saturday. It is elongated and will sweep through California as it moves. Temperatures will stay mild.
Saturday morning, lows will be in the mid 40s to low 50s on the coast, and in the upper 30s to mid 40s inland. Highs will be in the mid 60s to low 70s for all areas.
North winds will be strong Saturday evening. There is another wind advisory from 6:00 pm Saturday to 3:00 am Sunday in the Santa Barbara County interior mountains, Lake Casitas, the Southeast Coast and East Santa Ynez Range.
The wind will then turn more northeasterly late Saturday night. There is a wind advisory from 11:00 pm Saturday to 10:00 pm Monday for the Ventura County valleys, mountains, and coast. Santa Ana wind speeds will be 20 to 30 mph, and gusts could reach up to 60 mph.
There is a red flag warning for almost all of Ventura County from 3:00 am Sunday to 10:00 pm Monday. Warmer temperatures, gusty winds, and low relative humidity (down as low as 5 percent in some locations) would make a fire spread more quickly if it were to start.
Low temperatures will drop further and high temperatures will rise slightly on Sunday, thanks to a ridge of high pressure and northeasterly flow. Some interior valleys will reach near or below freezing temperatures in the early morning.
There is a freeze watch overnight Saturday to Sunday, and again overnight Sunday to Monday for the South Salinas Valley and SLO interior valleys.
Upper support for the wind will weaken Tuesday, though temperatures will stay warm through midweek. Halloween night may be a little chilly, but clear skies will prevail. Low clouds will start to return Wednesday night and Thursday morning.
