Thaw to end. Winter's return is coming.

While Tuesday had nothing on the past weekend, it was still a very pleasant day.  Crisp morning air slowly warmed to near 70.  Stunning day with just a bit of cloud cover.  Those clouds should fill in through the night, but I don't think the rain will follow.  Mid 60s tomorrow, so a touch cooler.  And keep an eye out for showers, especially later in the day and into the evening.  It will be brief it is does come, with high pressure building back in on Thursday.  But that is not  a return to warm weather, and colder air filters in behind the storm.  At least the sun will be shining.  And Friday does not look any better.  In fact, it will be even cooler with clouds filling back in.  The good news is this system might just be enough to knock out the inversion and get rid of the dense cold fog in the central valley.

A duck takes flight in Neary Lagoon, Santa Cruz, California.

As for the weekend, things look less than grim.  We don't have any huge winter storm forecast, but a system will be dipping a bit further south and with a touch more wind than Wednesday's system.  It looks likely that rain will fill in some time on Saturday.  Probably late.  Don't expect a whole lot of water or wind with this one.  But enough.  Hopefully it does its thing overnight and clouds break on Sunday.  But, rain could linger into the morning hours.  Then clearing and cold for Monday.

Right now, next week looks dry under high pressure, but models are suggesting a return to a wet period by the start of February.  So, winter is on its way back in.  No more two week dry spells on the books for now.  But we still have some decent weather for the time being, and the swell is still hitting hard.  Sidewalks looked killer this evening.  And the crowds were all a bit down the road.  This past swell settle more tomorrow, but by Thursday, another boost comes in.  This one may be even bigger than this past weekend.  And offshores are forecast.  A third shows over the weekend, although weather issues may come into play.  And watch for some new snow over the weekend.  We may even see a dusting Wednesday evening, and a few inches by Sunday morning.  A slight shift in the storm track, and we could see a few feet.  Best guess tonight is 8 inches.  That is enough to give a surface refresh.  Get that sweater back out and welcome winter back for a few months.