SLO broke heat records 3 days in a row, but relief — and maybe rain — is on the way

San Luis Obispo may have broken a temperature record for the third day in a row Wednesday, but don’t worry — we’ll all be wearing sweaters by this time next week.

According to PG&E meteorologist John Lindsey, the mercury hit 100 degrees in SLO on Wednesday, breaking the old record of 98 degrees set in 2003. The Santa Maria Airport also broke a record for the third consecutive day, reaching a high of 98 degrees, 6 degrees above the old record of 92 set in 1965, Lindsey said.

And Paso Robles broke a heat record for the second straight day Thursday. The North County city topped out at 95 degrees, passing the previous record of 94 set in 2003, according to the National Weather Service.

The high-pressure ridge of air that’s been causing the heat wave is now weakening, Lindsey said.

On top of that easing high-pressure ridge, gentle offshore winds will blow on the Central Coast through Saturday, producing a “gradual cooling trend,” Lindsey said. Persistent northwesterly winds are forecast to blow from Sunday through Tuesday, allowing the marine layer to develop and temperatures to cool into the 60s and 70s throughout the county.

The Central Coast might even see some rain next week.

According to Lindsey, long-range models show that SLO County may receive the “first significant rain of the season” next Friday and Saturday, though he emphasized that those charts could change.

This story was originally published October 26, 2017 at 11:14 AM with the headline "SLO broke heat records 3 days in a row, but relief — and maybe rain — is on the way."