Coastal flooding, powerful waves and rain expected this Friday
Dense fog developed this Friday morning, reducing visibility to under a quarter of a mile for some areas. Make sure to drive slowly as you make your way to work and like we always say, use those low beams! Low clouds and fog will be quick to clear this morning and even when they do clear, we can still expect high clouds to blanket the area causing dreary and gloomy conditions. We saw extremely powerful waves and coastal flooding on Thursday and those waves will not die down anytime soon. Friday morning, especially during high tide will be another impactful day as beach erosion and more flooding is possible. Multiple Coastal Flood Warnings and High Surf Warnings are still in effect as waves could reach up to 25ft. Rogue Waves are the most dangerous, they appear out of nowhere and can sweep you off your feet and back into the ocean. It is imperative you stay away from low lying areas and roads near the beach and absolutely avoid getting into the water. A cold front will pass through by the afternoon causing temperatures to be a degree or two cooler than we saw yesterday and right near average. This front will create the possibility for showers later tonight into Saturday morning. Its likely the heaviest amount of precipitation will occur overnight with just under an inch expected in Santa Barbara.
It'll be a soggy Saturday morning and shower activity will continue throughout the day. Highs reach into the lower to middle 60s and winds stay below advisory levels. It is possible more fog develops in the morning, so if you're planning to travel early expect to see slick roads and reduced visibility. Rain will die down by the evening and we start to dry out just in time for New Years Eve.
Dry but cool conditions are expected for New Years Eve and it will be a rather calm day. Clouds and fog in the morning will turn to partly cloudy skies and maybe even some mostly sunny conditions by the evening. We have a slight chance for showers to develop late Sunday into the first day of 2024. Details are still in the works so keep an eye on the most recent forecasts so you can plan accordingly! Our next round of rain will be Wednesday into Thursday, but minimal impacts expected.
