The mercury may be high now, but light rains could bring cooler weather to San Luis Obispo County by the end of the week.
Meteorologist John Lindsey told The Tribune that showers are expected in the region from Saturday through next Sunday.
According to Lindsey, the showers are part of a subtropical moisture system moving through Central California that will bring higher humidity and more cloud cover to the area.
He says the weather pattern is driven by the annual North American monsoon, which he says is becoming more extreme due to climate change.
“The North American monsoon happens every year, but as the climate warms, it will happen more often in the future,” Lindsey said. “That’s nothing different or new.”
Lindsey said that in addition to cloud cover from increased humidity, smoke from nearby wildfires, such as the Lake Fire in Santa Barbara County, could also drop daytime temperatures and bring warmer nights to the area.
Extreme heat warning extended in SLO County
Meanwhile, much of the region was expected to remain under an extreme heat warning Sunday night through Thursday, with “dangerously hot conditions with high temperatures between 35 and 40 degrees,” the National Weather Service said.
In Paso Robles, temperatures are expected to reach around 110 degrees Fahrenheit on Wednesday, before slowly dropping to around 95 degrees Fahrenheit over the weekend.
In San Luis Obispo, temperatures are expected to reach 86 degrees on Wednesday, with temperatures dropping to just over 70 degrees by the end of the weekend.
According to the National Weather Service, temperatures along the coast will remain around 60 degrees for most of the week and through Sunday.
