Buckle down, fierce winds are headed for the Central Coast
This Sunday, the Super Bowl will be played in Miami, and in Pennsylvania, a hairy weather prophet, Punxsutawney Phil, will emerge from his hole to predict how much longer winter will last. Groundhog Day is celebrated on the festival of lights, which marks the halfway point between the winter solstice and the spring equinox.
According to legend, if this husky rodent sees his shadow, winter will last six more weeks. If he doesn’t see his shadow, spring will come early. Unfortunately, like flipping a coin or spinning a roulette wheel, Phil is only accurate about half the time in foretelling the end of winter’s chill. The hog has celebrated this holiday since 1886 in Gobbler’s Knob in west-central Pennsylvania.
However, the biggest story on Sunday along the Central Coast may be the northwesterly winds, and here is why. If the models and charts verify, this could be one of the most energetic northwesterly wind events in years, if not decades.
A cold front is forecast to break through the high-pressure ridge, which has produced the dry and relatively warm weather since mid-January on Sunday. This front may not produce any rain, but it will generate fierce winds.
As the Groundhog Day cold front moves southeastward through the Central Coast on Sunday, it will create an area of low pressure to the south as it reaches Point Conception by the afternoon, creating a 4-millibar pressure field between Big Sur and Point Sal. Since nature never likes anything out of balance, a chilly and dense airmass from a 1,042-millibar Eastern Pacific high centered about 800 miles to the northwest of Diablo Canyon will rush in to fill the void.
According to the “Geostrophic Wind Scale” at our latitude, this pressure gradient should produce nearly 50-knot winds or fresh gale-force to strong gale-force (39 to 54 mph with gusts to 65 mph) northwesterly winds on the Beaufort wind scale along our coastline. This scale is a clear and concise measure that is used by sailors and landlubbers throughout the world. The northwesterly sea and swell will reach 14 to 16 feet on Sunday into Monday, and overall, it will be “Victory at Sea” conditions.
This gale will allow plenty of frigid air to filter into the San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara counties with high temperatures on Monday and Tuesday only reaching the mid to high 50s while low temperatures drop to the upper 20s to low 30s in the inland areas and mid-30 in the coastal valleys.
To make it feel even colder, as these northwesterly winds blow parallel to our coastline, the friction of the wind will cause ocean surface water to move. Because of the Coriolis Effect, the surface water will flow to the right, or offshore. This, in turn, causes upwelling along the coast as cold, clear, and nutrient-rich water rises from the ocean’s depths to the surface along the immediate shoreline to replace the shallow water that is pushed out to sea. Seawater temperatures will drop from 55 and 57 degrees to 49 to 52 degrees by Monday.
These winds will produce blowing sand near the beaches resulting in reduced visibility. Travel could be difficult, especially for high-profile vehicles. These winds may also topple trees that can fall into power lines, causing electrical outages.
There are many ways to prepare and keep safe during a wind storm. Assume downed power lines are energized and dangerous. Please stay away from the lines and keep others away from them. Call 911 immediately to report the location of a downed line. After reporting the downed line, call PG&E at 1-800-743-5000.
Prepare for power outages
Take steps now to stay safe in the event of a power outage: Keep a battery-operated flashlight and radio within easy reach. Ensure those items are always accessible and that your batteries are fresh. Listen for updates on storm conditions and power outages. Use safer LED candles. Flame candles are not recommended. Plan for another way to communicate. Don’t depend on a phone that requires electricity to communicate. Keep a standard handset or mobile phone ready as a backup. Store water-filled plastic containers in your freezer. You can use them as blocks of ice to prevent food from spoiling. Discover other storm safety tips at www.pge.com
This story was originally published February 2, 2020 at 5:00 AM.