Another System Arrives Wednesday Afternoon
The next storm system today will bring rain and gusty winds to the region. Showers taper off for some areas overnight as the previous system departs. However, moist and somewhat unstable onshore flow may bring a few more showers into coastal areas overnight. The new, fast-moving system will be here around midday on Wednesday. We’ll see a period of moderate rain along with gusty northwesterly winds. Behind the front, we break into showers for the remainder of the evening, though the gusty northwesterly winds may continue to 20-30mph. While those winds aren’t extreme in and of themselves, trees and debris affected by this weekend’s severe southerly winds may become dislodged and create new hazards. Showers will continue into Thursday, slowly tapering off. Oh, and it’s going to be chilly! Wednesday’s highs will be around 10ºF below normal and snow levels will dip to 3500ft.
AIR QUALITY: Good
Wednesday: Mostly cloudy with rain in the late morning to early afternoon, then showers through the evening. Gusty northwesterly winds at times, especially during the afternoon. Chilly, with highs in the low to mid 50s for most areas—40s up in the hills and snow levels dipping to 3,500ft.
Tonight: Mostly cloudy with ongoing scattered showers, snow showers for peaks and highest ridges. Northwest winds will be gusty at times. Cool lows with mainly 40s at the coast, 30s and 40s inland. Patchy frost possible for interior valleys and mountains.
**FROST ADVISORY**
…. For Southern Valleys and interior mountains of Monterey County, and mountains of San Benito from 10pm Wednesday to 9am Thursday.
*Temperatures as low as 33 will result in frost formation.
* Frost could kill sensitive outdoor vegetation if left uncovered.
*Remember to protect people, pets, and plants from the cold. Take steps now to protect tender plants from the cold.
Thursday: Partly cloudy with scattered showers (snow levels 3,500ft). Cool and breezy with highs in the 50s.
Extended: Friday is trending drier, so I’ve removed rain from the forecast. We’ll be dry and seasonable through the weekend and into early next week with mostly sunny to partly cloudy skies. One model is showing a weak system moving by on Sunday, so we’ll keep an eye on it. The pattern looks to remain dry until if shifts back to stormy somewhere around February 18th.
*Note: Any alerts from the National Weather Service in Monterey will be noted in italics above. Alerts may be edited for brevity or local clarification (in parenthesis)
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This week's normal temperatures:
--COASTAL CITIES--
LOW: 44ºF
HIGH: 61ºF
--INLAND CITIES--
LOW: 39ºF
HIGH: 62ºF
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-The outlook from the Climate Prediction Center for February 14th – 20th calls for the likelihood of ABOVE normal temperatures and ABOVE normal precipitation.
- ENSO (El Niño/La Niña) STATUS: El Niño Advisory
- ENSO Forecast: Strong to Very Strong El Niño expected this winter.
-Area drought status: Currently drought-free
