Drier conditions prevail on Tuesday
With a weak Pacific storm sweeping through our corner of the region, there is a chance of light rain through Tuesday morning. Totals should be insignificant (under a tenth or quarter of an inch), and some parts of Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo Counties may not see measurable rainfall at all.
Tuesday is looking mostly dry with a weak afternoon breeze. Low temperatures will be in the 40s to low 50s. And high temperatures will be in the 60s, slightly warmer than Monday in coastal areas.
A small ridge of high pressure will warm temperatures on Wednesday, but weak onshore flow will keep some marine layer present. Mid and upper-level clouds will make for a partly sunny day. Thursday will also be partly sunny and onshore flow will increase. Temperatures will start to fall again.
A cold upper low will move down the Washington and Oregon coasts on Friday, setting us up for more cloud cover and a slight chance of rain in areas north of Point Conception. Rain chances will increase on Saturday, but southerly winds look to not be too strong. This means we will not see any major upslope enhancement of rain totals.
Rain totals are currently estimated at 0.75 to 1.5 inches in coastal areas and 1 to 3 inches on foothills and mountains. There may be some heavier and more convective shower cells mixed in with this storm, and there is a slight chance of thunderstorms.
This storm is colder than our last few, and we are expecting heavy snow accumulation at 5,000 feet, plus light accumulation down to 2,500 feet. Mountain travel may be difficult or impossible. High temperatures may barely reach 60 degrees. The storm could linger into Sunday morning, but the afternoon is looking drier and windier.
