Will the weather fog up fireworks? Here’s the SLO County forecast for the 4th of July
Fourth of July spectators, rejoice! San Luis Obispo County beaches probably won’t get hit with fog this year.
Strong to gale-force northwesterly winds are “expected to be strong enough to completely mix out the marine layer” on Thursday, according to PG&E meteorologist John Lindsey. And the winds should also blow away the smoke from the fireworks.
“At least in the last few years, we haven’t had those very strong northwesterly winds and consequently, we had the marine layer,” Lindsey said. “The cloud ceiling was high enough that we still had good viewing of fireworks, but smoke from fireworks got in the way.
“When you have all that smoke and no wind, all that smoke starts reducing the view.”
The marine layer is still expected overnight, but Lindsey said it should hold off long enough for the fireworks displays.
“It should be a pretty good evening for fireworks viewing,” Lindsey said.
Those winds are also forecast to help with the temperatures. Paso Robles and the inland valleys are forecast to reach the low 90s on Thursday, while coastal valleys should hit the mid 70s, Lindsey said.
Temperatures should hit the mid to high 70s on southerly facing beaches such as Cayucos and Avila Beach, while the rest of the beaches should see high temperatures in the 60s, Lindsey said.
Those northwesterly winds are forecast to decrease from Saturday into next Tuesday, which will let the marine layer with areas of fog and mist to redevelop and become more persistent in coastal areas, Lindsey said.
Looking ahead, forecast models aren’t showing any indication of extreme heat for the area, Lindsey said. Temperatures are expected to fluctuate between above average and below average into mid-July.
This story was originally published July 2, 2019 at 4:21 PM.
