Winds Transition into Strong Santa Anas Friday Night into the Weekend

The cold front has officially passed through, creating gusty winds all along the Central Coast. We saw wind gusts upwards of 50mph by the Gaviota Coast. Wind Advisories, Watches and Warnings have been extended until 6am for most areas south of Point Conception. Besides the blustery conditions, Friday will be rather mundane. Clouds that form in the morning will clear by lunch and temperatures will be a degree or two cooler than Thursday. High pressure will build in the Great Basin later Friday night causing winds to shift back to the northeast. These offshore winds will strengthen this weekend causing a moderate to strong Santa Ana wind event, with gusts projected up to 50mph. Typical Santa Ana wind gusts do not usually reach these levels.

While the winds will be strong and possibly damaging in Ventura County, temperature wise these winds do not heat temperatures too much. Highs on Saturday will reach into the 70s for a majority of the viewing area. Humidity will decrease and skies will be mostly sunny. Overnight lows will fall near freezing for the interior and up north. Wind sheltered locations will cool the most.

The warming trend continues Sunday, but temperatures will only warm a few degrees. The day to day difference throughout the workweek will be very minimal as high pressure continues to dominate Southern California. The next round of Santa Anas looks to arrive next weekend, but plenty of details need to be ironed out.