Rain chances ahead, Sunday Feb 2nd forecast
A very pretty day with mild to warm temperatures and plenty of sunshine belying the fact that a very potent Pacific storm is battering areas just to our north. High pressure is once again keeping our region just a bit south of another atmospheric river that could bring multiple inches of rain to and feet of snow to Northern California. We do expect to see more clouds with possibly some drizzle for our northern areas as the storm moves through much of the West Coast on Sunday. Temperatures will likely cool a few degrees, but stay on the mild side for most areas. Currently just one Wind Advisory is posted at this time for the South Coast from Gaviota and west through the Hollister ranch area. The increase in energy coming off the ocean could also produce some patchy dense fog along with the above mentioned drizzle through the morning hours.
Looking ahead, the strong atmospheric river storm to our north is expected to dip southward early in the work week bring an increased chance for showers by early Tuesday. Showers and much cooler temperatures will linger through about Thursday or possibly Friday. As of right now, computer models predict that about an inch or more could fall in areas to the north of Point Conception with higher amounts likely in the up slopes of mountains and foothills. Some of the energy will likely make in to our southern regions with totals closer to a quarter or half an inch. It is important to note that our forecast models had originally predicted that we could see a great deal of rainfall and then backed off of that over that past few days. This means that we will be extra vigilant just in case, things change and more of this storm's energy turns southward. Also, long range forecast see more potential systems taking aim at us beyond next weekend. We will, of course, keep ahead of that as well and update you quickly through next week.