The Winds Of Change
The times, they are a-changin’. And by times, I mean temperatures, winds, and other weather-y things. Onshore flow deepens overnight ahead of a dry cold front that will arrive on Wednesday afternoon. Expect increased low clouds into Wednesday morning before the front scatters them out and ushers in a period of cool, blustery, northwesterly winds. The front precedes a deep, cold area of low pressure which will dig down the coast for Thursday and Friday. This low is unseasonably cold—perhaps in the top 10 coldest on record for this time of year. What this translates to is two days of cold temperatures, gusty northwest winds, and rounds of showers with embedded thunderstorms filled with small hail. Snow levels will drop significantly too—at least to 3,000ft and perhaps even lower. While accumulating snow is not expected for coastal cities, the area mountains are certain to have a new coating of “white paint,” and some mid-elevation roadways may see slippery conditions. We’ll transition from unsettled weather during the weekend to another round of warmer, dryer conditions next week. More on that in the extended forecast below.
AIR QUALITY: Good
Overnight: Low clouds for the coast and nearby valleys with patchy fog possible. Otherwise clear. Lows in the 40s to low 50s on the coast and 40s for inland valleys.
Wednesday: Partly cloudy and cooler. A dry cold front will usher in gusty northwesterly winds for the afternoon hours. Highs in the upper 50s to low 60s around the bay with a few southern valleys reaching the 70s before cooling later in the day. Winds may gust as high as 40mph in some exposed areas.
Thursday: Mostly cloudy with rounds of showers with embedded thunderstorms. Plentiful small hail possible with thunderstorms. Snow levels down to 3,000ft. Cold, with highs in the 50s.
Extended: We’ll get another day of rounds of showers & thunderstorms on Friday with mountain snow expected. Temperatures will warm slightly but will still be some 10-15ºF cool for this time of year. Conditions are then expected to remain mostly dry on Saturday with just a slight chance of showers. A weak disturbance will bring another round of showers on Sunday, but they should be widely scattered at best and not all that intense. Expect dry weather beginning on Monday and for most of next week. Temperatures will exceed daily normal by Tuesday and will stay that way for at least a few more days.
*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: 46ºF
HIGH: 64ºF
--INLAND CITIES--
LOW: 41ºF
HIGH: 69ºF
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-The outlook from the Climate Prediction Center for April 10th – 16th 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
