Spring has not yet sprung, but it already feels like summer in Santa Barbara County. A rare heat wave is blazing through the region this week.
Peak heat is forecast for Tuesday through Friday, potentially breaching into the 90s in some areas, according to the National Weather Service (NWS). Temperatures will be 20-35 degrees above normal, making for a week of extremely rare and dangerously high temperatures for March.
An extreme heat warning is in effect beginning Tuesday morning for Ojai and other inland areas of Central and Southern California, forecasting “dangerously hot conditions” with temperatures between 96 and 104. Heat advisories are in effect for the cooler, coastal regions of Santa Barbara County — including Santa Barbara, Lompoc, and Santa Maria, where temperatures between 85 and 95 degrees are expected. Both the warnings and advisories are expected to last until 8 p.m. Friday night. There is a high risk for heat illness this week, the NWS warns.