For the second day in a row, Santa Maria set a record high temperature for the date, but relief is in sight.
The National Weather Service forecast noted monsoonal moisture, responsible for recent hot and humid conditions, has moved on, and the marine layer should arrive overnight.
Santa Maria hit a high of 86 degrees Friday, breaking the previous record for Aug. 4 of 84 set in 1978, according to the official NWS gauge at the Santa Maria Public Airport.
A day earlier, the county’s largest city recorded a high temperature of 88 degrees, replacing the older record of 82 set in 1998.
Santa Barbara reached a high temperature of 83 degrees Friday, short of the date’s record of 86 in 2015.
Increasing onshore flow also will bring some cooler weather to the coastal areas and inland valleys, with temperatures near normal this weekend.
“Humidities will also return to normal levels this weekend as the monsoon moisture shifts well to the east,” the forecast said.
Normal weather also is expected early next week.
“Not seeing any sign of monsoon return, so for the time being the forecast remains thunderstorm free after today,” forecasters said Friday.
The forecast calls for partly cloudy skies Saturday, with highs in the mid-70s for coastal areas and lows around 60 degrees.
Inlands areas such as the Santa Ynez Valley will see high temperatures in the low 90s and lows around 60 degrees this weekend.
Santa Barbara Airport did tie a record of 84 degrees on Wednesday, matching one set 20 years earlier, the NWS said.
Wednesday at the airport also saw a record rainfall of .01, breaking the trace of precipitation received on the date in 2001, 1967, 1959 and 1954.
— Noozhawk North County editor Janene Scully can be reached at jscully@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.