The Storm Door Reopens
We will finish March on a stormy note. High pressure to our southwest will weaken and allow the first of two weather systems access to the West Coast starting Wednesday. We’ll catch the tail end of a frontal system late in the day Wednesday and lasting into Thursday morning. Light to briefly moderate rain is expected across the area with the highest amounts in Santa Cruz County. A few showers may linger into the day on Thursday as we watch the next system approach for Friday. That system will make a more direct impact on coastal California and will come complete with gusty southerly winds, moderate to briefly heavy rain, and cold, unstable air which could lead to thunderstorms.
AIR QUALITY: Good
Overnight: Mostly clear to partly cloudy with a few high clouds passing through. Some fog/low cloudcover possible in the valleys by dawn. Cooler, with lows in the mid to upper 40s on the coast and mid 30s to mid 40s for inland valleys .
Wednesday: Mostly sunny, then increasing clouds from the west throughout the day. Southwesterly winds will slowly increase as well. Light rain will be possible for the coastal mountains in the late afternoon into the early evening. Then, a frontal system will sweep from northwest to southeast across the KION coverage area into the overnight. Light to moderate rain is expected during this time. Highs in the upper 50s to upper 60s.
Thursday: Rain tapers off in the south early Thursday morning. Then, partly to mostly cloudy with isolated showers for the remainder of the day. Cooler, with occasionally gusty westerly winds and highs in the upper 50s to low 60s.
Extended: The next, stronger system arrives Friday afternoon with wind & rain and potentially a thunderstorm or two. With the parent low just offshore, expect rounds of showers & thunderstorms on Saturday with additional, but less energetic showers into Easter Sunday. There is then a slight chance of mountain showers Monday afternoon, but coastal areas should remain dry. Warmer weather is expected mid-week next week.
*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 3rd – 9th 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
