Dry start to December forecast for much of Central California | Weather report for the Central Coast | Local News

In Rocky Butte, rainfall totals reached 8.4 inches, 150% of normal for this time of year. Paso Robles Airport recorded 1.6 inches, exactly 100% of average.

Heading south, San Luis Obispo Airport received 2.1 inches through the end of November, 83% of the usual 2.5 inches. Further south, Santa Maria Airport measured 1.2 inches, just 67% of its average.

Santa Barbara Airport, meanwhile, recorded just 0.5 inches, just 24% of the typical November total.

Looking forward, long-term forecasts indicate a dry start to December across much of Central California, leading to further declines in precipitation. Over the next two weeks we will experience a stable WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) weather pattern.

This calm period is driven by a high pressure system to the north, keeping the storm track confined to the Pacific Northwest and keeping our region dry.

During the nights and mornings, the Santa Lucia winds (northeast winds) prevent the marine layer from moving inland, keeping it offshore.

Meanwhile, a weak 1,012 millibar low pressure system located halfway between central California and Hawaii will bring variable sized medium to high altitude clouds across San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara counties through Sunday. Skies are expected to clear significantly Monday through the following Saturday.

Nighttime temperatures will drop to the low 40s in inland valleys like Santa Ynez and to the mid 40s in coastal valleys like Santa Maria and Lompoc and on the beaches.

Daily highs will be in the high 60s to mid 70s across the Central Coast.

Exceptionally low swell (1 to 3 feet) will continue through Sunday morning.

A 4 to 6 foot west-northwest (280 degree deep) swell (with an 18 to 20 second period) will arrive along our coast Sunday afternoon and will remain at that level, but with a gradually shorter period Tuesday.

Waves of 3 to 5 feet west-northwest (280 degrees deep) (with a period of 7 to 12 seconds) are expected on Wednesday, increasing to 4 to 6 feet (with a period of 7 to 14-second period) by Thursday until next Saturday.

Combined with this west-northwesterly swell, there will be a 1- to 3-foot Southern Hemisphere swell (220 degrees deep) Wednesday through next Saturday (with a 16- to 18-second period).

The surface temperatures of the sea water are consistently between 55 and 57 degrees

Tuesday, warming to 56 to 59 degrees Wednesday through next Saturday.

On this date in weather history (December 1st):

1831: The coldest December on record began in the northeastern United States. Temperatures in New York City averaged 22 degrees with only four days of temperatures above freezing, and in Burlington VT the temperature never rose above freezing. The Erie Canal was closed on the first day of December and remained closed all month. (David Ludlum)

2007: A cold but dry weather system moved across Northern California overnight, bringing cool temperatures and mostly sunny weather to our region today. This morning a brisk 14°F was reported at Windrose Farm and a low of 21.9°F was reported in Creston.

2011: A steep 15 millibar pressure difference between San Francisco and Los Angeles brought very strong northerly winds across California today. Laural Mountain at 4,390 feet in Kern County reported sustained winds of 68 mph with gusts up to 89 mph from the north this morning. Sierra Crest near Squaw Valley Summit at an elevation of 8,700 feet today reported sustained winds of 62 mph and gusts up to 93 mph.

Last night, a wind gust of 97 mph was recorded at 4,120-foot Whitaker Peak in Los Angeles County. Closer to home, the Condor Lookout weather station, located at an elevation of 3,190 feet on Hi Mountain in Los Padres National Forest east of San Luis Obispo, reported sustained winds of 55 mph and gusts of up to 63 miles this morning per hour.

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