More sunshine to start the new week, April 8th forecast

Another chilly start and then beautiful day with cool to mild temperatures under partly cloudy skies. High pressure will continue to hold firm over our region with a moderate northerly flow. Temperatures for Monday look nice with mostly low to mid 60's expected as well as a few low 70's. Wind will continue to be a little gusty from the north and a Wind Advisory is in effect for portions of Ventura and Santa Barbara Counties where gusts below foothills and mountains could exceed 40 mph through very early Monday. Skies should also cooperate for eclipse viewing with no significant cloud cover expected between the late morning and early afternoon.

Looking ahead, high pressure is expected to build across our region and that means more sunshine and a warming trend through a good portion of next week. Temperatures will climb in to the mid and even upper 60's by Monday. By Tuesday and mid week, mid and even upper 70's will be more widespread. We may even see a few of our warmest inland locations bump in to the low 80's as winds turn more northeasterly. Another late season storm system will approach the region by very late in the work week and next weekend. Our weather forecast models do see increasing clouds and cooler temperatures as we approach next weekend. The big question is whether or not we see a return of showers. For now, our ensemble forecast is leaning more toward rain chances over next weekend. Ensemble is the collective or group idea as we use many models. The key is the trajectory of this storm with regard to water versus land trajectory. If the system stays over water, we see better chances for measurable precipitation. If the storm tracks over land, we usually see more of a wind weather story. Today's ensemble model runs are seeing more of a water trajectory which means better rain chances. We will monitor closely and update as we get closer to next weekend. Enjoy the next few days, but don't put away the umbrella just in case.