Santa Barbara County can expect this week’s temperatures and humidity to drop starting Friday, with tropical moisture exiting the region.

The county has broken heat records this week and recorded unusually high humidity, but some relief is on the way, according to the National Weather Service.

Meteorologist Bryan Lewis said cooling will begin Friday, with noticeable improvements throughout the weekend.

As tropical moisture exits the region, humidity will drop, so “it won’t feel as sticky for folks,” Lewis said.

Lewis said the heat is being caused by a ridge of high pressure overhead, which helps create hot conditions at ground level. He noted that the humidity is a remnant of tropical moisture from Hurricane Marie, with Santa Barbara seeing particularly elevated humidity.

Both Santa Barbara and Santa Maria experienced record-breaking temperatures on Wednesday, according to Lewis. The high temperature in Santa Barbara was 96 degrees, surpassing the daily record of 95 degrees set in 1984, and the high temperature in Santa Maria was 103 degrees, surpassing the daily record of 99 degrees set in 1984.

While Lewis noted that Thursday was cooler, the temperatures were still high, with 92 degrees in Santa Barbara and 86 degrees in Santa Maria recorded by the early afternoon.

Lewis said the local “hot spots” in the county were the foothills of the Santa Ynez Mountains, where temperatures were recorded in the triple digits. He also noted that the stretch from Refugio State Beach and westward along the Gaviota Coast was especially hot, and will continue to be so. 

In Santa Barbara, dew points were in the 70s, which was well above normal for this time of year, and Santa Maria was into the 60s. According to Lewis, average dew points for September typically fall in the mid-50s. That shows the above-normal humidity, he said.

Due to offshore northeast winds near Santa Maria in the morning, onshore flow from the ocean was limited, which shut down the cooling trends in the afternoon, keeping the heat persistent.

While he said El Niño can keep coastal ocean temperatures high by weakening winds, he specified it’s “impossible” to say it’s the direct cause of this week’s heat.

Since many people on the Central Coast don’t have air conditioning, Lewis recommended that residents seek out air-conditioned spaces such as public libraries and to drink plenty of water.

The National Weather Service issued an extreme heat warning in effect through 8 p.m. Thursday, warning of higher risks of heat-related illness.

Click here for details on how to stay safe during the heat wave.

Click here for the latest forecast from the National Weather Service.

Southern California Edison has notified customers that it is considering a Public Safety Power Shutoff for 2,832 customers in Santa Barbara County, stretching from Santa Barbara to the Gaviota Coast. Residents can check if their area is under PSPS consideration at SCE’s website.

For most South County residents, that Public Safety Power Shutoff period is set to end at 3 a.m. Friday. For some residents in central Goleta, that period will end at midnight on Saturday.

Daytime high temperatures and nighttime lows should start to drop Friday and continue to decrease through the weekend, according to weather service officials.

By Sunday, temperatures may be a few degrees below normal for this time of year.

However, Lewis said the forecast shows a bit of warming and that it’s “tough to say” how the rest of September will look.

In Santa Maria, temperatures are expected to drop from the high 80s on Thursday to the high 70s on Friday, and then the mid-70s for the weekend and next week.

For Santa Barbara, Thursday had an expected high of 98 degrees, set to go down to 88 by Friday, 82 by Saturday and 80 on Sunday. Next week is projected to have high temperatures in the mid-to high 70s.

Lompoc was expected to hit 89 degrees on Thursday, with a high of 80 on Friday and daytime highs in the mid-70s for the weekend.  

Solvang was expected to reach at least 99 degrees on Thursday and then drop to the low 90s on Friday and into the mid-80s for the weekend.