SLO County weather forecast for the week of Feb. 18: Expect rain and low freezing levels
Get used to the rain and cool temperatures, San Luis Obispo County. They’re here to stay for the foreseeable future.
An upper-level trough will produce strong to gale-force (25 to 38 mph) northwesterly winds and rain showers into Sunday. Snow elevations are also expected to drop below 2,500 feet by Saturday night into Sunday. This system is expected to produce between 0.10 and 0.33 of an inch of rain.
Moderate to fresh (13 to 24 mph) Santa Lucia (northeasterly) winds during the night and morning hours will produce fair and dry weather on Monday into Wednesday. Temperatures are expected to drop to below average, with overnight lows in the low to mid 30s and highs in the 50s.
Another cold front is forecast to produce rain Thursday into Friday. This frigid low-pressure system is expected to create moderate gale-force to fresh gale-force (32 to 46 mph) northwesterly winds and well below average daily temperatures. Between 0.33 and 0.50 of inch of rain with snow levels as low as 1,500 feet along the Central Coast is expected. Overall, expect scattered showers next weekend with a chance for low elevation snow and thunderstorms.
Surf report
A 12- to 14-foot northwesterly (310-degree, deep-water) sea and swell (with a 5- to 15-second period) is forecast Saturday afternoon and night, decreasing to 10 to 12 feet (with an 8- to 21-second period) Sunday.
An 8- to 10-foot northwesterly (305-degree, deep-water) swell (with an 11- to 18-second period) is forecast along coastline Monday, decreasing to 6 to 8 feet (with a 10- to 15-second period) Tuesday into Wednesday morning. Moderate gale-force to fresh gale-force (32 to 46 mph) northwesterly winds will generate an 11- to 13-foot northwesterly (320-degree, deep-water) sea and swell (with a 5- to 15-second period) Wednesday afternoon into Thursday, decreasing Friday.
Seawater temperatures will continue to range between 53 and 56 degrees through Friday.
This week’s temperatures
LOWS AND HIGHS, PASO ROBLES
MON | TUE | WED | THU | FRI | SAT | SUN |
30, 53 | 29, 55 | 30, 54 | 34, 51 | 30, 53 | 31, 53 | 35, 58 |
LOWS AND HIGHS, SLO AND COASTAL VALLEYS
MON | TUE | WED | THU | FRI | SAT | SUN |
36, 56 | 34, 57 | 35, 57 | 40, 53 | 35, 55 | 37, 55 | 39, 59 |
John Lindsey’s column is special to The Tribune. He 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.
This story was originally published February 17, 2019 at 10:38 AM.