Sunny Skies with a Side of Wind

Windy but sunny and mild! Sunshine with north winds gusting as we get closer to the weekend. . This offshore flow will warm many areas up into the upper 60s to low 70s this afternoon. Winds will slowly ease on Friday and at the surface, a daily sea breeze pattern will initiate at the coast by Saturday. While the region will be warm over all through the Saint Patrick’s Day weekend, we could see a few low clouds along the coast.

AIR QUALITY: Good

**WIND ADVISORY**
…for the Santa Cruz Mountains and the Diablo Range in Santa Clara County in effect from 5PM Wednesday until 11AM Friday

*North to Northeast winds 20 to 35 mph with gusts up to 50 mph expected..

Gusty winds could blow around unsecured objects. Tree limbs could be blown down and a few power outages may result.
 
Use extra caution when driving, especially if operating a high profile vehicle. Secure outdoor objects.

Overnight: Clear with lows in the 40s and some gusty winds.

Friday: Sunny and mild with daytime temps in the mid to upper 60s and into the low 70s.

Extended: Winds begin to ease on Friday but may remain gusty up in the mountains.  Temperatures jump up above normal into and through the weekend, though the sea breeze may moderate the coast and introduce a few low clouds back into the equation. The long term forecast is still looking pretty dry, especially for the next week or so, though mid-to-late next week may see the return of at least a chance of precip.

*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).
------------------------------------------------------------------------
This week's normal temperatures:
--COASTAL CITIES--
LOW: 45ºF
HIGH: 63ºF

--INLAND CITIES--
LOW: 41ºF
HIGH: 67ºF
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
-The outlook from the Climate Prediction Center for March 20^th – 26^th calls for the likelihood of near normal temperatures and ABOVE 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