SLO County weather forecast for the week of Aug. 8: Smoky skies and warm days

Last week, gale-force northwesterly winds along the coastline mixed out the marine layer during the late morning and afternoon leaving behind mostly sunny skies in the coastal regions.

This week, gentle to moderate (8 to 18 mph) northwesterly to southwesterly (onshore) winds will allow marine low clouds with pockets of fog and mist to persist along the beaches for most of the day.

Combined with the marine layer, smoke from the wildfires in Northern California will continue to stream southward over Central California.

Sunday’s high temperatures will reach the low 90s in the inland valleys such as Paso Robles, while San Luis Obispo and the coastal valleys will hit the mid-70s.

The beaches will remain in the 60s under overcast skies for much of the day, earning the nickname “Fogust.”

For the first part of the workweek, we will see smoke gradually shift eastward and out of the Central Coast as a shortwave trough of low pressure move southward out of the Pacific Northwest through Central California.

Later in the workweek, an upper-level ridge of high pressure will set up across much of the West Coast.

As this ridge of high-pressure builds, we will see temperatures gradually rise and reach between 10 and 15 degrees Fahrenheit above normal across the coastal and inland valleys with Paso Robles reaching 106 degrees and San Luis Obispo 86 degrees by Friday.

Temperatures along the immediate coastline will remain in the 60s.

This heat will continue through much of next week, but no record-breaking temperatures are expected at this time.

Surf report

A 3- to 5-foot northwesterly (295-degree, deep-water) swell (with an 8- to 11-second period) is forecast along our coastline on Sunday through Tuesday, decreasing to 2 to 4 feet with the same period on Wednesday into Thursday. Increasing northwesterly winds off the coastline will generate a 3- to 5-foot northwesterly (305-degree, deep-water) sea and swell (with a 4- to 11-second period) on Friday into Saturday.

A 1- to 2-foot Southern Hemisphere (185-degree, deep-water) swell (with a 15- to 17-second period) will arrive along our coastline on Wednesday and remain at this height through Thursday.

Seawater temperatures will range between 53 and 56 degrees through Sunday, warming to 54 to 57 degrees on Monday into Tuesday. Seawater temperatures will further rise on Wednesday through Friday to 56 and 60 degrees.

This week’s temperatures

LOWS AND HIGHS, PASO ROBLES

LOWS AND HIGHS, SAN LUIS OBISPO AND COASTAL VALLEYS

PG&E safety tip

Away from the coastline, an extended period of warm to hot weather is expected. Stay hydrated: Keep drinking plenty of water, even if you’re not thirsty. Avoid drinks with caffeine or alcohol. For more heat safety tips, please visit www.pge.com.