Mostly Dry, Partly Cloudy, But A Touch Warmer Tuesday

There are no major storms on the horizon, but we will have several chances of rain over the next week. A weather system is currently approaching from the west and surface flow has switched to the south. This moist southerly flow has pushed some light drizzle into the coastal mountains —and its possible for a few coastal cities to see a sprinkle or two. Otherwise, expect a slightly warmer and mostly dry day to cast your votes. The aforementioned system will be making a glancing blow on the Central Coast Wednesday with a few showers reaching the coast and perhaps a few more popping up over the higher terrain. Overall rainfall amounts are expected to be low, but brief moderate showers will be possible. A few isolated showers may last into Thursday morning on the coast and a few more may pop up over the inland hills into Thursday afternoon. Then, expect a day or two break before the next chance (see the extended forecast below)
 
AIR QUALITY: Good

Tuesday: Partly cloudy with a few sprinkles possible, especially in the coastal mountains. Slightly warmer, with highs in the upper 50s to low 60s. Breezy southwesterly winds on the coast at times.

Overnight: Mostly cloudy with the chance of a light, isolated shower after midnight. Lows mainly in the 40s, with a few low 50s near the coast and 30s inland. Winds will remain light. 

Wednesday: Mostly cloudy on the coast and partly cloudy inland. Scattered coastal showers with additional showers possible over the higher terrain near the immediate coast. Highs in the upper 50s to low 60s. Winds shift to the northwest and may be breezy at times.

Extended: Thursday will feature a few lingering showers and gusty northwesterly winds. Temperatures drop about 5ºF for most areas. We’ll warm back up with dry conditions on Friday, then a weak system may clip us from the north on Saturday—with a slight chance of rain. Another, perhaps more southerly system passes by on Monday/Tuesday with slightly higher rain chances.

*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).  ADVERTISING

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This week's normal temperatures:
--COASTAL CITIES--
LOW: 45ºF
HIGH: 62ºF

--INLAND CITIES--
LOW: 40ºF
HIGH: 65ºF
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-The outlook from the Climate Prediction Center for March 12^th - 18^th calls for the likelihood of ABOVE normal temperatures and near normal precipitation.

- ENSO (El Niño/La Niña) STATUS: El Niño Advisory, La Niña Watch
- ENSO Forecast: Transition from El Niño to neutral by Spring and then to La Niña by summer.
-Area drought status: Currently drought-free