One Beautiful Day Ahead of a Rainy, Cloudy Weekend
We'll have one sunny, warm, and dry day before rain returns this weekend. A weak ridge of high pressure will warm temperatures back up Friday, with highs at or slightly above average for this time of year. But again, it will be short-lived as clouds will be on the increase this evening ahead of our next weak rain maker. An unsettled weather pattern returns starting Saturday. The first of three systems passing by will clip us. At the very least expect an increase in clouds and cooler temperatures. There is also a slight chance of rain—or perhaps some coastal drizzle.
AIR QUALITY: Good
Friday: Expect mostly sunny skies for the rest of the day. Warmer, with highs in the 60s to around 70ºF. Breezy around the river mouths in the afternoon.
Overnight: Increasing clouds, partly to mostly cloudy skies. Areas of fog into dawn. Lows will be a bit warmer with temps in the upper 30s to low 40s inland, low to mid 40s at the coast.
Saturday: Mostly cloudy with slight chance of light rain/drizzle, becoming partly cloudy later in the day. Best chance of showers will be near the coast and toward the north. Light winds. Highs will be a touch cooler, with mainly upper 50s to low 60s at the coast, low to mid 60s inland.
Sunday (Daylight Saving): Remember to spring forward. Partly cloudy with increasing clouds late. Even cooler highs in the mid 50s to low 60s. Light rain showers starting by late afternoon/ evening, becoming widespread overnight. Breezy southerly winds, gusty at times.
Extended: A second system arrives late Sunday into early Monday with light rain chances and another on Tuesday. None look all that concerning at the moment. High pressure will likely build in after mid-week next week with a streak of warmer, dryer weather expected.
*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: 45ºF
HIGH: 62ºF
--INLAND CITIES--
LOW: 40ºF
HIGH: 65ºF
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-The outlook from the Climate Prediction Center for March 15th – 21st calls for the likelihood of ABOVE normal temperatures and BELOW 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