Winds uptick Wednesday, wind warning downgraded

Tuesday's winds were calmer than expected and weather alerts have been downgraded or altered for Wednesday on the Central Coast.

Wind gusts will pick up stronger on Wednesday though they are looking less dangerous than what was forecasted by national meteorologists on Monday.

A red flag warning remains in effect for Ventura, Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties until 6pm Wednesday.

The PDS (Particularly Dangerous Situation) Warning for LA and VTA Counties has been updated to focus on just Wednesday from 3am-3pm: high risk for large fires and rapid fire spread possible.

A wind advisory also remains in effect until 3pm Wednesday for Ventura County: 25-40mph winds and mountain gusts up to 60 mph possible. The high wind warning has been downgraded.

The National Weather Service reports that Tuesday's Santa Ana winds did not meet initial expectations and were calmer than predicted. Winds did however remain 20-40mph with gusts near 60 mph in higher VTA County mountains.

Another freeze warning goes into effect Tuesday night through Wednesday morning 10pm-9am with temperatures as low as 18 degrees in SLO County, temperatures as low as 25 in Santa Barbara County.

A cooling trend begins Thursday as the wind shifts offshore, to the southwest direction. We still could see winds near 30mph Thursday morning on the Central Coast but they should calm significantly by Thursday afternoon.

More noticeable cooling by Friday into the weekend, bringing most areas into the low 60s. We could even see some marine layer clouds return to our coastal communities Friday through the weekend.

Temps will drop 4-8 degrees below normal by this weekend.

We will shift to offshore flow once again early next week. We do not wind speed estimates yet but will bring you updates as we get closer to Monday.