Winds lighten Thursday morning, next round of Santa Ana’s projected overnight
Its a very cold morning for most early risers in Santa Barbara and the Central Coast. Since the extreme Santa Ana wind event has died down, offshore flow is no longer feeding warm and dry air into the area. Overnight lows cooled into the 20s and 30s, prompting a Frost Advisory for Santa Barbara South Coast and portions of the Central Coast until 9am this morning. Expect frost on grass and your windshield and temperatures near freezing for your early morning commute. We begin to warm up by midday and highs rise into the 60s and 70s. The day will be clam and a needed break from the winds until the sun begins to set. Our next round of Santa Anas crank up Thursday night into Friday morning. These winds will be noticeably weaker but the impact remains the same. Dry air, low humidity values and strong winds are projected. Straight-lined winds will be hazardous for drivers along the 101.
Moderate Santa Ana winds remain through Wednesday morning. It appears that peaks winds begin around 2am through 6am. While this event is dismal compared to Tuesday, it will still raise the concern for fire danger. The Red Flag Warning has been extended through 6pm Friday for Ventura County. Wind Alerts have been extended until 2pm Friday through Ventura County. Temperatures will warm into the upper 60s and low 70s. Skies remain mostly sunny and waves stay calm.
Fire dangers last through the extended forecast. Recent models show the next round of moderate Santa Ana winds occur Saturday night into Sunday. These winds will be stronger than Thursday evening but not as dangerous as earlier in the workweek. Red Flag Warnings and Wind Advisories will likely be extended. There is a good chance of dangerous Santa Anas developing Tuesday night into Wednesday morning of next week. This could be the forth dangerous event within the last 5 months, which is extremely rare. There is no rain in the forecast until the later half of January. Keep an eye on the forecast as we approach these next events.
