A mild & dry forecast for Christmas Eve, Dec 24th
A beautiful and more importantly, dry start to the holiday weekend. Still seeing a few clouds mixed in with cool to mild temperatures. Most areas saw highs just below what is normal for this time of year which would be mid to upper 60's. Our only weather concern will be a bump in surf as a northwest swell produces waves in the 6 to 12 foot range along the Central Coast where a High Surf Advisory is in effect through Sunday Christmas Eve. Our Moon is also moving toward being full which means tides are extra high in the morning between about 4 and 10 am. This means a tide of about seven feet plus large surf could create dangerous conditions on beaches, jetties and harbor walls. We may even see some minor coastal flooding during the early morning with the surf and high tides together. Look for slightly warmer temps on Sunday with highs in the 60's to about 70 degrees. Clouds will stick around and a very slight chance for drizzle is possible for the early morning.
Looking ahead, Santa will bring great weather as high pressure holds back a very active Pacific storm track. Highs will hover near to slightly above normal through about mid week which mean 60's to low 70's. Our forecast models are dealing with the storm door opening just enough to bring a threat for more showers by late Wednesday. Most of the potential for rain will stay to our north with San Luis Obispo County and the northwestern portion of Santa Barbara County seeing the best chance for light showers. We will have a better idea by Christmas how this small system will effect us and we'll update the forecast as needed. Looking a bit farther out is where things get interesting once again. Long range forecasting always needs to be watched with caution as our dynamic atmosphere can and usually does throw challenging twists and turns. We may see another strong storm system approach the region by New Year's. Again, many things can and will change this far out with regard to timing and intensity. We will keep a close eye on things and update as needed a we turn the calendar and head in to 2024.
