After a week of showers and gloomy conditions, the South Coast will get a much-needed reprieve from the wet weather and instead experience sunny and clear conditions this weekend.
A high of 72 degrees is forecast today, with mostly sunny skies and a high near 70 degrees expected Sunday, according to the National Weather Service in Oxnard.
“It’ll be a complete reversal,” said Dave Samuhel, senior meteorologist with AccuWeather. “You guys should be getting lots of sunshine over the next few days.”
A slight chance of showers was possible Sunday evening for interior and mountain areas, but no rainfall was expected along the coast, weather officials said.
“Once we get past that it looks like we’re generally in a dry pattern for the remainder of the week,” said David Gomberg, meteorologist with the National Weather Service.
Advisory level winds were expected Sunday night into Monday for the area, with north winds 40 to 50 mph — similar to sundowner winds without the warm temperatures, Mr. Gomberg said.
The only total lunar eclipse of 2019 is expected Sunday night, visible for its entirety in North and South America. The eclipse is being referred as a super blood moon — “super” because the moon will be closest to Earth in its orbit during the full moon and “blood” because the total lunar eclipse will turn the moon a reddish hue, according to NASA.
“A few clouds will be present, but the lunar eclipse will last a while so you should be able to get a good view during the evening hours,” Mr. Samuhel told the News-Press. “After sunset it should be a pretty good show.”
The eclipse will begin around 6:36 p.m., with the moon moving into a darker shadow around 7:33 p.m.
The total lunar eclipse will begin around 8:41 p.m. and the “moment of greatest eclipse,” according to NASA, occurs at 9:12 p.m.
The end of the total lunar eclipse is expected around 9:43 p.m. and the eclipse is expected to officially conclude around 11:48 p.m., officials said.
“We always caution people that if they plan outdoor activities to be ready for not only the colder temperatures but also the wind, which can create some dangerous wind chill,” Mr. Gomberg told the News-Press, adding that residents in the foothills and mountains are the areas of most concern.
A low around 48 degrees is forecast Sunday night for the Santa Barbara area, according to the Weather Service.
A high of 65 degrees is forecast Monday before a cold front moves through the area Monday night, with temperatures dropping into the 30s marking the coldest night of the week, weather officials said.
Minor Santa Ana winds were possible Tuesday evening, while sunny and mild conditions were expected throughout the week.
A warming trend is expected to set in, with temperatures reaching 70 degrees Thursday and Friday.
The drought status in Santa Barbara, which improved to “moderate” earlier this week for the first time in nearly a year, was expected to remain unchanged despite the dry conditions, weather officials said.
Rain was not expected to impact the area until early February, with the next set of storms moving through the area around Groundhog Day.
