SLO County weather forecast for the week of April 2: 'Abundant' rain is on the way

Here is this week’s weather forecast by PG&E meteorologist John Lindsey.

Marine low clouds with areas of fog and mist will surge into the Coastal Valleys into Monday morning. The marine layer will clear from the coastal valleys later Monday morning. Strong to gale-force (25 to 38 mph) northwesterly winds along the coastline will mix out the coastal stratus clouds along the beaches Monday afternoon.

Monday’s maximum temperatures will range from the low 60s at the beaches to the high 60s in the coastal valleys and high 70s in the North County. High pressure will then rebuild Tuesday, and Santa Lucia (northeasterly) winds keep the marine layer out to sea and allow temperatures to edge upward, with the beaches warming to the mid-60s, the coastal valleys reaching the mid-70s and the North County the low 80s.

Persistent northwesterly (onshore) winds Wednesday into Thursday will produce marine low clouds along the beaches and coastal valleys and cooler conditions across the Central Coast.

Changes in the weather pattern are then forecast for Friday into Sunday, with an area of low pressure approaching the coast with increasing clouds and rain showers possible by Friday evening/night. Rain is then forecast to spread throughout the Central Coast on Saturday. This storm system is expected to contain abundant moisture (atmospheric river) from a remnant typhoon from the western Pacific, and rain amounts could range between 0.5 and 1.5 inches. At this time, the heaviest rain is forecast in Northern California, where some areas could receive as much as 8 inches.

Snow levels in the Sierra Nevada could be quite high initially before falling by Saturday night/Sunday morning. A few rain showers could persist into Sunday morning, then dry weather will return by the end of the weekend, but more wet and unsettled weather is possible over the following week.

Surf report

Increasing northwesterly winds will generate a 4- to 6-foot northwesterly (310-degree, deep-water) sea and swell (with a 5- to 9-second period) along our coastline Sunday afternoon and night, increasing to 6 to 8 feet (with a 7- to 15-second period) Monday into Tuesday.

A 3- to 5-foot northwesterly (300-degree, deep-water) sea and swell (with 7- to 12-second period) is forecast along our coastline Wednesday, decreasing to 3 to 4 feet (with a 7- to 11-second period) Thursday into Friday. Increasing southerly winds will generate increasing southerly seas Saturday, followed by an 8- to 10-foot (270-degree, deep-water) westerly swell Sunday into next Monday.

Arriving from the Southern Hemisphere: A 1- to 2-foot Southern Hemisphere (190-degree, deep-water) swell (with an 18- to 20-second period) will arrive Tuesday, building to 2 to 3 feet (with a 15- to 17-second period) Wednesday into Thursday.

Seawater temperatures will range between 54 and 56 degrees through Sunday.

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At PG&E, the safety of customers and employees is a top priority. Consider downed power lines still active. Stay away from the lines and keep others away from them. Call 911 immediately to report the location of a downed line. After reporting the downed line, call PG&E's Residential Customer Service Center at 1-800-743-5000.

This story was originally published April 1, 2018 at 12:50 PM with the headline "SLO County weather forecast for the week of April 2: 'Abundant' rain is on the way."