Benign weather persists into Tuesday, but there are chances of rain late in the week

After a beautiful and dry Christmas Day, we will continue with benign weather on Tuesday. A ridge of high pressure will linger over the area.

Offshore flow will weaken and even lean more neutral. This could reintroduce patches of low clouds in the overnight and morning hours on Tuesday. Upper-level cloud coverage will gradually increase through the day as the ridge flattens.

Low temperatures early Tuesday will primarily be in the 40s to low 50s. A few interior valleys may drop to the upper 30s. High temperatures will mostly be in the mid to upper 60s, a couple degrees cooler from Monday.

A trough will approach the coast Tuesday night and sweep over the region Wednesday. It will be much cloudier. As the front passes in the afternoon, there is a slight chance of light rain in northern areas. However, models are showing diminishing chances of rainfall as we get closer to midweek. Temperatures will cool slightly.

The system will weaken Wednesday night and Thursday morning. A small trough will pop up over the region during the day and skies will be partly cloudy.

The bigger effect midweek will be large swells. There is a high surf advisory at Central Coast beaches until 3:00 pm Thursday. Breaking waves will be up to 11 feet Wednesday, and then between 15 to 19 feet on Thursday. This advisory has a chance of needing to be upgraded to a warning.

There is a beach hazards statement on Ventura County beaches through Tuesday morning. High tides will be elevated around 7 feet. From 9:00 pm Tuesday to 3:00 pm Thursday, the statement will upgrade to a high surf advisory with breaking waves building to 10 to 14 feet on Thursday. There is also a beach hazards statement on the South Coast expiring at 3:00 pm Thursday with abnormally high tides around 7.1 to 7.2 feet.

Clearing will be short-lived as another trough will approach the California Coast early Friday. By the afternoon, we once again have a slight chance of light rain. Chances are higher late Friday and Saturday. Preliminary models show up to an inch of rain north of Point Conception and up to a half inch to the south.

Dry and benign weather will return on Sunday, just in time for New Year's Eve. High temperatures will be close to seasonal norms and lows will be quite chilly.