SLOweather

This morning, between 8:30 and 9AM, SLO City fire responded to a fire in the garage at United Rentals on Tank Farm Road.

   Due to the great amount of upwelling along our coastline,
     seawater temperatures have decrease to 47.80 degrees this
     morning at the Diablo Canyon AWAC current meter. These are
     some of the coldest seawater temperatures on record. 

 ATMOSPHERIC CONDITION:

     Yesterday’s northwesterly winds reached 49.6 mph sustained with
     gust to 63.8 mph. This is one of the strongest northwesterly
     wind events I’ve seen.

     This looks like the last in a long series of plunging low
     pressure system into Nevada. Winds will still be strong today
     and tomorrow, but not as intense as yesterday. 

     Still no rain in sight, as low pressure systems will be weak
     and far to the north.

     After a cold start, a mostly sunny day with a few clouds should
     provide some temperature recovery by this afternoon, but another
     round of cold temperatures will develop tonight through Thursday
     morning.

     Thursday should be a warmer day, especially across the interior
     and coastal valleys. The fresh to strong (19-31 mph) northwesterly
     winds will keep the coastal areas on the cool side.

     Minimums on Thursday night should rise ahead of a warming trend
     forecast to last through the weekend and into the early part
     of next week.

     We will go from below normal temperatures today to above normal
     temperatures by Saturday through Tuesday with lots of 70s near
     the coast and 80s to low 90s across the interior.

     Cooler weather looks to develop by the middle part of next week
     after about 4 days of warm to hot weather.

PG&E meteorologist John Lindsey had joined the SLOweather blog as a contributor. He’ll be posting his forecasts and other weather observations and comments here.

 ATMOSPHERIC CONDITION:

     An intense low pressure system over Nevada in combination
     with a strong Eastern Pacific high is producing a very steep
     pressure gradient along the central coast.

     This condition will produce fresh gale to strong gale (39 to
     54 mph with gust reaching 60 mph) northwesterly (onshore) winds
     this afternoon through tonight.

     Temperatures will plummet across our area by about 15 degrees
     or so from yesterday’s high and will mostly range between the
     mid 50s to the low 60s throughout our area under hazy skies.

     Overnight minimums on Wednesday and Thursday morning will
     be chilly, ranging from the low 30s to 40s.
 
     Warmer weather will begin on Thursday as winds turn northerly
     and high pressure begins to build across the state.

     Temperatures most likely will climb to above normal, with
     maximums in the 70s near the coast and low 80s across the
     interior. The coastline will remain cool, expect at Avila
     Beach with temperatures will reach the mid 70s.

     This weekend could be warmer, with widespread 80s across the
     interior and in intermediate locations inland from the coast.

     John Lindsey

ATMOSPHERIC CONDITION:

     A low pressure system in the upper-atmosphere, about 300 miles
     southwest of Diablo Canyon, will continue to produce partly
     to mostly cloudy (overcast) conditions today as it moves
     towards our area. 

     This afternoon’s temperatures will range between the low to
     mid-60s at the coast and the low to mid-70s in the coastal
     valleys and interior.

     Marine low clouds and fog should develop along our coastline
     and surge into the coastal valleys tonight into Tuesday
     morning.
  
     A cold front will plunge into the Great Basin tonight and
     will bring moderate gale to fresh gale (32 to 46 mph with
     gust over 50 mph) northwesterly (onshore) winds on Tuesday
     afternoon and Wednesday. Temperatures during this period
     should plummet across the interior by about 10 degrees or
     so and will mostly be in low to middle 60s with upper 50s
     and low 60s near the coast.

     Overnight minimums on Wednesday and Thursday morning will
     be chilly, ranging from the low 30s to 40s.
 
     Warmer weather will begin on Thursday as winds turn northerly
     and high pressure begins to build across the state. As the
     ridge builds and a weak offshore flow develops later in the
     work week.

     Temperatures most likely will climb to above normal, with
     maximums in the 70s near the coast and low 80s across the
     interior.

     This weekend could be warmer, with widespread 80s across the
     interior and in intermediate locations inland from the coast.

     John Lindsey

Tomorrow’s Full Pink Moon becomes full at 7:56 AM PDT, before rising locally at 7:04 PM, and setting at 06:50 AM on the 10th.

Native American’s called it the Pink Moon after wild ground phlox, which is is one of the earliest widespread flowers of the spring. Other names were the Full Sprouting Grass Moon, the Flower Moon, the Moon When Geese Return in Scattered Formation, the Egg Moon, and — among coastal tribes — the Full Fish Moon. I Colonial America, the April Full Moon was known as the Planter’s Moon. Among the Celts, it was called the Growing Moon.