Marine Layer Season
It’s here! Marine layer season! Are you excited?
The weather pattern won’t change all that much over the next few days as the pattern remains somewhat blocked up. A weak upper level low to our southwest will slowly drift to the east into the early part of the week, helping keep the marine layer moderately deep while the big ridge to our northwest will also add some stability to the layer. Long story short, the daily cycle of low clouds will continue with overcast mornings for the coast and nearby valleys and partial clearing in the afternoon. The ridge then dominates past mid-week which should squish the layer a bit and perhaps make fog more likely late in the week. Inland temperatures will also warm up and we may also see some minor warming on the coast. All in all, expect seasonable to slightly cool conditions on the coast and seasonable to slightly warm conditions inland through Friday. More on the weekend in the extended forecast below.
AIR QUALITY: Good
Overnight: Low clouds for the coast and inland valleys with patchy fog in the coastal hills and inland valleys. A spritz of drizzle will be possible mainly on the south/east sides of the bay and up into the hills. Expect lows in the upper 40s to low 50s on the coast and mid 40s to low 50s for inland valleys. It will be warmer in the hills.
Monday: Low clouds mix back to the coast by late morning, but will remain in place for many coastal cities during the afternoon. Expect some clearing on the north side of the bay and perhaps a little clear spot on the south. We’ll have a few thin high clouds passing through and a few flat cumulus clouds may build up on the hills. Expect highs in the upper 50s to upper 60s on the coast—warmest on the north side of the bay—and low 70s to mid 80s inland. Breezy northwesterly onshore and up-valley winds in the afternoon, getting gusty around the river mouths.
Tuesday: Widespread low clouds around the coast and inland valleys early, with clouds clearing back to the coast into the afternoon. Again, many coastal areas may remain cloudy with just partial clearing on the north and south sides of the bay. Otherwise, mostly sunny with some high clouds moving in from the east and a few cumulus over the hills. Expect highs in the upper 50s to upper 60s on the coast—warmest on the north side of the bay—and low 70s to mid 80s inland. Breezy northwesterly onshore and up-valley winds in the afternoon and into the early evening.
Extended: Not much change in the day to day weather through the end of the week. Low clouds may be a little less extensive Wednesday but may thicken again through the end of the week. By the weekend, a low moving in from the southwest may interact with a trough passing by to the north. A lot of scenarios could play out with this including deep mixing in the marine layer and thus warmer coastal temperatures, maybe even a chance of showers? Some models are showing this on Sunday. Inland areas will definitely be cooler, but still close to normal—maybe just a little below. Stay tuned!
*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: 50ºF
HIGH: 65ºF
--INLAND CITIES--
LOW: 46ºF
HIGH: 75ºF
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-The outlook from the Climate Prediction Center for May 20th – 26th calls for the likelihood of near 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 soon and then to La Niña by summer.
-Area drought status: Currently drought-free
