SLO County had a warm January — and we’re in for a hot start to February too

The Eastern Pacific High (1,025 mb) remains firmly anchored off the Central California coast and will continue to steer the storm track into the Pacific Northwest. The Central Coast will likely stay dry at least through early February.

If January felt warmer than usual, you weren’t imagining it.

San Luis Obispo finished the month 3.8 degrees above its historical January average of 52.8. The warmest January on record in San Luis Obispo occurred in 2003, when the average temperature reached 59.2. Santa Maria Airport was also warmer than normal, averaging 54.8 for the month, 3.2 above typical. Farther inland, Paso Robles ran closer to normal, coming in 1.5 above its historical average of 48.1.

As expected, January rainfall totals were below normal across the region. Paso Robles recorded just 1.26 inches of rain at the airport, less than half of its historical average. Santa Maria Airport reported 1.84 inches, well below the typical January total of 2.74 inches. San Luis Obispo Regional Airport measured 2.32 inches, compared to a normal January average of 3.86 inches.

A dry, cold front will move into the Central Coast on Sunday, bringing fresh to strong (19 to 31 mph) northwesterly winds. Areas of marine low clouds will hug the coastline, while mid- to high-level clouds spread across the region.

This will be followed by a pattern of moderate to fresh (13 to 24 mph) Santa Lucia (northeasterly) winds during the night and morning, easing and turning more northwesterly during the afternoon as high pressure builds over California. This pattern is expected to result in predominantly clear skies, accompanied by cool mornings and mild to warm afternoons.

Overnight low temperatures through Friday will drop into the upper 30s to lower 40s in the inland valleys, including Paso Robles, and into the upper 40s to lower 50s in the coastal valleys such as San Luis Obispo and along the beaches. Daytime highs across the Central Coast will generally reach the low to mid-70s. However, San Luis Obispo could see temperatures push into the low 80s on Wednesday and Thursday.

Looking ahead, gale-force northwesterly winds may develop later next week — but rain remains nowhere in sight.

Surf report

Sunday’s 6- to 8-foot northwesterly (310-degree deep-water) sea and swell (with a 5- to 17-second) will increase to 8- to 10-feet (with an 8- to 15-second period) on Monday.

A 5- to 7-foot northwesterly (290-degree deep-water) swell (with an 8- to 14-second period) will develop on Tuesday through Wednesday.

A 7- to 9-foot westerly (275-degree deep-water) swell (with a 14- to 17-second period) is expected along our coastline on Thursday through Saturday morning, followed by increasing northwesterly sea and swell on Saturday and Sunday.

Seawater temperatures will range between 58 and 60 degrees through Friday, lowering to 57 to 59 degrees next Saturday and Sunday.

On this date in weather history

1893: Thunder and lightning accompanied sleet and snow at Saint Louis, Missouri, during the evening hours, even though the temperature was just 13 degrees above zero.

1951: The greatest ice storm of record in the United States produced glaze up to 4 inches thick from Texas to Pennsylvania causing 25 deaths, 500 serious injuries and $100 million damage. Tennessee was hardest hit by the storm. Communications and utilities were interrupted for a week to ten days.

1951: The temperature at Taylor Park Dam plunged to 60 degrees below zero, a record for the state of Colorado.

1987: A storm in the Pacific Northwest produced wind gusts to 100 mph at Cape Blanco, Oregon, and up to 6 inches of rain in the northern coastal mountain ranges. (Storm Data)

2016: A strong 1,031 millibar area of high pressure moved in behind the front and produced a steep pressure gradient along the California coast. This pressure gradient created northwesterly winds that reached 48.5 mph sustained with gust to 60.3 mph at the Diablo Canyon meteorological tower last night. Along with the winds, there were reports of snow and hail along the higher elevations and much needed rain throughout the Central Coast.

This week’s temperatures

LOWS AND HIGHS, PASO ROBLES

SUNDAY: 43, 70

MONDAY: 40, 71

TUESDAY: 39, 72

WEDNESDAY: 38, 75

THURSDAY: 38, 76

FRIDAY: 39, 74

SATURDAY: 38, 73

SUNDAY: 38, 72

LOWS AND HIGHS, SAN LUIS OBISPO AND COASTAL VALLEYS

SUNDAY: 53, 68

MONDAY: 50, 72

TUESDAY: 48, 75

WEDNESDAY: 48, 81

THURSDAY: 49, 82

FRIDAY: 47, 78

SATURDAY: 46, 77

SUNDAY: 48, 75

John Lindsey is a retired PG&E marine meteorologist. Email him at JohnLindseyLosOsos@gmail.com or follow him on X @PGE_John.

This story was originally published February 1, 2026 at 5:00 AM.