The storm door is closing in SLO County. Windy and clear skies ahead this week
2021 went out like a lion, and 2022 will start as a lamb. Unfortunately, the storm door is closing in Central California. The Eastern Pacific High is moving off Southern California, forcing the upper-level winds and the storms they bring into Northern California, Oregon, and Washington in a classic La Niña pattern for the first half of Jan. 2022.
Moderate to fresh (13 to 24 mph) Santa Lucia (northeasterly) on Sunday morning will produce mostly clear skies in the coastal regions. The inland valleys will see stratus clouds developing on the eastern side of the Santa Lucia mountains. If you’re traveling eastward, Tule fog in the San Joaquin Valley is expected for much of this upcoming week.
Temperatures will gradually rise through this week, with daytime highs reaching into the low to mid-60s and overnight lows mostly in the mid-40s.
Gentle to moderate (8 to 18 mph) southerly winds will develop on Sunday afternoon into Tuesday morning, will allow areas of low marine clouds with pockets of fog and mist to develop in the coastal regions during the night and morning.
Fresh to strong (19 to 31 mph) northwesterly to northeasterly winds on Tuesday afternoon through Friday will produce clear and dry skies.
A cold front is forecast to approach the state late this week, resulting in precipitation across Northern California next weekend. The tail end of this front is expected to produce increasing clouds with pockets of drizzle/light rain on Saturday.
Surf report
Sunday’s 2- to 4-foot northwesterly (290-degree, deep-water) swell (with an 11- to 16-second period) will remain at this level through Monday.
A 7- to 9-foot northwesterly (295-degree, deep-water) sea and swell (with a 5- to 15-second period) is expected along our coastline on Tuesday, decreasing to 5- to 7-feet (with a 7- to 14-second period) on Wednesday into Thursday.
Seawater temperatures will range between 54- and 56-degrees through this week.This week’s temperatures
LOWS AND HIGHS, PASO ROBLES
SUN | MON | TUE | WED | THU | FRI | SAT | SUN |
32, 59 | 36, 57 | 41, 61 | 44, 62 | 48, 64 | 46, 62 | 46, 61 | 45, 63 |
LOWS AND HIGHS, SAN LUIS OBISPO AND COASTAL VALLEYS
SUN | MON | TUE | WED | THU | FRI | SAT | SUN |
37, 61 | 42, 61 | 45, 63 | 49, 65 | 53, 65 | 49, 64 | 51, 62 | 52, 63 |
PG&E safety tip
During this period of tranquil weather, it’s a wonderful time to prepare for stormy conditions, to learn how, please visit. www.pge.com
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.