Sunny but windy Wednesday

Wednesday will be dry, slightly cooler, and windy, as a weather system slides through. The system is associated with a broad area of low pressure over the Pacific Northwest. Rain and snow will remain far to the north, but it will push in cooler air and gusty winds. The weather pattern will become more active this weekend with several weather systems bringing rain chances Saturday through Monday. Sunday looks like the coolest, wettest day of the bunch.

A Small Craft Advisory remains in effect on Monterey Bay until 3 a.m. Thursday for Northwest winds 20 to 30 kt with gusts up to 35 kt.

A Gale Watch is in effect for the coastal waters of Monterey County Wednesday. Strong winds and high seas will combine to make conditions dangerous for mariners.

Wednesday: Mostly sunny but a bit cooler with north-northwest winds. Winds could get gusty on the coast. Cooler, with highs in the upper 50s to mid 60s on the coast and 60s to around 70ºF inland.

Overnight: Mostly clear with a few low clouds on the coast and patchy fog in the valleys. Expect lows in the 40s for most areas. Occasionally breezy over the hills and on the coast.

Thursday: After a chilly morning, expect mostly sunny skies and a warmer afternoon. Highs in the 60s to low 70s. Winds picking up again in the afternoon and could get gusty at times on the coast.

Extended: North-northwest winds will continue into Friday under mostly sunny skies. Highs will be seasonable to slightly cool … mainly 60s to around 70ºF. Rain returns on Saturday but should be mostly light. Better rain chances come on Sunday with showers lingering into Monday. The Sunday event will likely be more widespread and longer-duration. However, it doesn’t look like we’ll see heavy rain at this time. Dryer weather expected by Tuesday.                                                                                                                                           The outlook from the Climate Prediction Center for April 8th – 14th calls for the likelihood of BELOW normal temperatures and ABOVE normal precipitation.

El Niño/La Niña STATUS: Neutral
Forecast into Summer: Neutral

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This week's normal temperatures:
--COASTAL CITIES--
LOW: 46ºF
HIGH: 63ºF                                                                                                                       

--INLAND CITIES--
LOW: 41ºF
HIGH: 70ºF