SLO County weather forecast for the week of Dec. 5: Overcast, then windy and clear skies
.JPG "The last few weeks have seen warm, dry and mostly tranquil weather throughout California, however, the pattern is expected change to windy, cooler and perhaps even wet with snow in the mountains. This photo of Mount Shasta taken last week.")
After a few days of an extensive marine layer that produced overcast skies, Santa Lucia (northeasterly) winds will produce clear skies during the first part of this week; then, a significant change in the weather pattern is afoot.
High pressure will build over California and produce a pattern of gusty Santa Lucia (northeasterly/offshore) winds developing during the night and morning, shifting out of the northwest during the afternoon. This condition will produce dry and clear skies through Tuesday morning.
However, dense Tule fog will likely continue to develop across the Central Valley each night, with daytime temperatures remaining largely dependent on how quickly the fog clears.
Sunday’s high temperatures will reach the low and mid-70s in the coastal (San Luis Obispo) and inland (Paso Robles) valleys, while the beaches will range between the mid to high-60s.
A weak cold front will move through the Central Coast later on Tuesday afternoon. This system will produce partly to mostly cloudy skies, pockets of drizzle/sprinkles, cooler temperatures, and fresh to strong (19 to 31 mph) northwesterly winds. On Wednesday, these winds will decrease, and the marine layer will deepen with areas of fog and mist in the coastal regions.
A more robust low-pressure system will produce strong to gale-force (25 to 31 mph) northwesterly winds and rain showers throughout the Central Coast on Thursday. At this time, rainfall amounts are forecast to range between 0.10 and 0.25 of an inch.
Breezy, dry, partly cloudy conditions with cold morning lows are expected on Friday into Saturday.
The longer-range models have consistently predicted an unsettled weather pattern developing on the 12th through the 16th of December with gale-force southerly winds, high southerly seas, and moderate to heavy precipitation. Stay tuned.
Surf report
A 5- to 7-foot northwesterly (295-degree, deep-water) swell (with an 8- to 12-second period) will remain at this level on Sunday through Tuesday morning. Increasing northwesterly winds will generate a 5- to 7-foot (310-degree, deep-water) sea and swell (with a 5- to 8-second period) on Tuesday afternoon and night, decreasing to 4- to 6-feet on Wednesday.
Strong to gale-force (25 to 38 mph) northwesterly winds will generate an 8- to 10-foot northwesterly (310-degree, deep-water) sea and swell (with a 5- to 11-second period) on Thursday into Friday.
This week’s temperatures:
LOWS AND HIGHS, PASO ROBLES
SUN | MON | TUE | WED | THU | FRI | SAT | SUN |
36, 70 | 35, 68 | 35, 66 | 33, 68 | 38, 63 | 32, 60 | 28, 62 | 36, 64 |
LOWS AND HIGHS, SAN LUIS OBISPO AND COASTAL VALLEYS
SUN | MON | TUE | WED | THU | FRI | SAT | SUN |
48, 74 | 46, 75 | 44, 70 | 42, 72 | 46, 66 | 40, 62 | 35, 60 | 40, 62 |
PG&E safety tip
Downed power line safety tips: Never, ever touch a downed power line or go near one. Power lines are not insulated like power cords. Always assume the power line is live.
▪ Don’t touch a downed power line or other equipment.
▪ Don’t touch anything or anyone in contact with a downed power line.
▪ Keep children and pets away from a downed power line.
▪ Don’t drive over a downed power line.
▪ Leave the area immediately and then call 9-1-1 and PG&E at 1-800-743-5000.
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.