Late Week Rain
A return to an unsettled weather pattern is just a day or two away. In the meantime, most of us will remain dry. Cool and blustery northwest flow will continue into Tuesday, though temperatures will warm up a bit. I said most of us will remain dry, but a weak disturbance moving through Tuesday morning may spark up a light shower or two—more likely some patchy drizzle for coastal areas while most of us are asleep. Dry conditions are expected during daylight hours. As the ridge of high pressure to our west weakens mid-week, the door will be open for a weather system to make it through to the California Coast. We’ll catch the tail end of it late Wednesday into Thursday with light to briefly moderate rain expected. That, in turn, will open the door wider for the next, stronger system which will arrive sometime late on Friday into Saturday. That second system has the potential for heavier rain, gustier winds, and perhaps even some thunderstorm activity into the weekend. There is a lot to sort out, so make sure to stay tuned to my forecast.
AIR QUALITY: Good
Overnight: Partly to mostly cloudy with a few sprinkles/drizzle possible near the coast and in the coastal mountains. Breezy northwesterly winds possible in exposed areas. Lows in the mid 40s to low 50s on the coast and upper 30s to 40s inland.
Tuesday: Partly cloudy with decreasing clouds late. Slightly warmer with highs in the upper 50s to mid 60s on the coast and mainly 60s inland. Gusty west-northwesterly winds in the afternoon and early evening.
Wednesday: Partly cloudy with patchy valley fog early, then increasing clouds and southwesterly winds into the evening. Rain likely for the coast late, moving inland overnight. Rain will be mainly light to occasionally moderate. Highs in the 60s on the coast and 60s to around 70ºF inland.
Extended: Rain tapers off Thursday morning with a few showers lingering. Temps cool a bit in the northwesterly flow with highs in the upper 50s to 60s. We’ll start out dry on Friday but clouds and rain chances will increase late. Moderate rain possible overnight into Saturday along with gusty southerly winds. Showers last into Sunday/Monday with a chance of thunderstorms. Temperatures remain seasonably cool.
*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: 46ºF
HIGH: 63ºF
--INLAND CITIES--
LOW: 41ºF
HIGH: 68ºF
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
-The outlook from the Climate Prediction Center for April 2nd – 8th calls for the likelihood of BELOW 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
