2 SLO County cities broke daily heat records — with rumor of rain lurking again
Two San Luis Obispo County cities broke daily high temperature records on Tuesday as drought conditions along the Central Coast worsen — but rain, once again, taunts the forecast.
The San Luis Obispo County airport hit 87 degrees by 1 p.m. Tuesday, soaring past the previous record of 82 degrees set in 1976. Across town, Cal Poly measured 88 degrees at around 2 p.m., smashing the record of 83 degrees set in 1931.
Paso Robles saw the mercury rise to 84 degrees by around 4 p.m. Tuesday, topping the previous record of 82 degrees set in 1977.
And Santa Maria in Santa Barbara County tied its previous daily high temperature record of 86 degrees set in 1926.
To date, San Luis Obispo has set four daily high temperature records in 2022, while Paso Robles has set six, and Santa Maria four.
The high temperatures are expected to continue through this week.
Drought worsens, but rain is in the forecast
The additional round of record-high temperatures along the Central Coast comes as the region is experiencing “severe” and “extreme” drought conditions, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor.
Those categories of drought mean the Central Coast grazing land may be degrading, fire season is longer, trees and plants are stressed, water temperatures in streams and lakes can increase as flows and levels decrease, and wells and aquifer levels can lower, among other things, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor.
Any substantial amount of rain has yet to fall in 2022 for the Central Coast region.
In San Luis Obispo, typically about 10.6 inches of rain falls in the first three months of the year, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
This year, just 0.13 inches has fallen to date.
Paso Robles usually sees less rain than San Luis Obispo this time of year — about 7.6 inches, NOAA data show.
But so far in 2022 the area has measured just 0.43 inches of rain, according to NOAA.
There could be some drought relief on the way, however, as local forecasts are showing a chance of rain this weekend.
“A major change in the weather pattern is forecast to develop on Sunday into Monday as a low-pressure system and associated cold front produce gale-force southerly winds and rain throughout the Central Coast,” PG&E meteorologist John Lindsey writes in his most recent weather forecast. “At this time between 0.75 and 1.25 inches of precipitation is expected. Remember, this is a long-range forecast and will probably change, but it is the first credible indication of significant rain for 2022.”
This story was originally published March 23, 2022 at 9:13 AM.
