SLO County forecast for week of Jan. 17: More warm weather and a chance to break records
Last Friday, the compressional heating of the Santa Lucia (northeasterly) winds and a robust high-pressure ridge produced record temperatures throughout the Central Coast.
The warmest winter temperature ever recorded at Cal Poly occurred when the RAWS (Remote Automatic Weather Station) hit 93 degrees, smashing the previous winter record of 90 set on Jan. 16, 2014. That temperature was just a few degrees short of being the warmest location in the continental United States.
Both the Santa Ynez and San Luis Obispo airports reported a high of 91 degrees on Friday. Lompoc hit 86 degrees, which broke the old daily record of 84 degrees set back in 2014. Santa Maria reached 84, which did not beat the daily record of 87 also set back in 2014.
A strong ridge of high pressure combined with moderate to fresh (13 to 24 mph) and at times gusty Santa Lucia (northeasterly) winds is forecast on Sunday into Martin Luther King Jr. Day, and these winds will continue to produce well above average January temperatures. In fact, more daily high-temperature records could be broken on Sunday, with many locations reaching the 80s and maybe even the low 90s.
An upper-level low-pressure system will slide southeastward down the Sierra Nevada’s spine into Southern California while strengthening later Monday into Tuesday.
A strong high-pressure ridge to the north will create a steep pressure gradient that will produce strong to gale-force (25 to 38 mph) winds with locally higher gusts of 55+ mph in the coastal passes, gaps, canyons, and ridgetops Monday night into Tuesday morning.
During this period, a powerful Santa Ana event wind event is forecast in Southern California. Unfortunately, rain is not expected to accompany this low-pressure system, only passing high-level clouds.
The Santa Lucia winds will slacken Tuesday night into Wednesday morning and turn out of the northwest (onshore) by Wednesday afternoon through Friday. This condition will allow the marine layer with fog and mist to develop in the coastal regions which will produce much cooler temperatures.
Some of the longer-range models are advertising unsettled weather with a chance of rain developing on Saturday into next Sunday.
Surf report
A 7- to 9-foot northwesterly (290-degree, deep-water) swell (with a 13- to 25-second period) is forecast to arrive along our coastline on Sunday, building to 11 to 13 feet (with an 8- to 20-second period) on Monday. This swell will decrease to 8 to 10 feet (with a 7- to 17-second period) by Tuesday.
A 4- to 6-foot northwesterly (295-degree, deep-water) swell (with an 8- to 18-second period) will arrive along our coastline on Wednesday into Thursday, increasing to 9 to 11 feet (with an 11- to 17-second period) next Friday and Saturday.
Seawater temperatures will range between 54- and 56-degrees through next Sunday.
This week’s temperatures
LOWS AND HIGHS, PASO ROBLES
SUN | MON | TUE | WED | THU | FRI | SAT | SUN |
38, 77 | 37, 76 | 37, 66 | 32, 69 | 33, 65 | 34, 59 | 34, 58 | 35, 57 |
LOWS AND HIGHS, SAN LUIS OBISPO AND COASTAL VALLEYS
SUN | MON | TUE | WED | THU | FRI | SAT | SUN |
49, 90 | 47, 85 | 46, 72 | 45, 74 | 41, 69 | 41, 63 | 41, 62 | 42, 61 |
PG&E safety tip
Never touch downed wires: If you see a downed power line, assume it is energized and extremely dangerous. Do not touch or try to move it — and keep children and animals away. Report downed power lines immediately by calling 911 and by calling PG&E at 1-800-743-5002.
John Lindsey’s is PG&E’s Diablo Canyon marine meteorologist and a media relations representative. Email him at pgeweather@pge.com or follow him on Twitter @PGE_John.