Let the Warm Up Begin… Well, Mainly Inland
Temperatures slowly rise heading into the weekend with occasional thin, passing high clouds and the daily cycle of low clouds on the coast. By Saturday, inland highs may be as much as 15ºF above normal while onshore flow will keep coastal areas near to slightly above seasonable, and plenty of sunshine across the region. Some inland valley spots like King City and Pinnacles may reach the low 90s.
AIR QUALITY: Good
Thursday: Slightly warmer, but still with a few pesky low clouds on the coast. Coastal highs in the upper 50s to mid 60s with upper 60s to upper 70s inland. Gusty northwesterly onshore winds at times.
Overnight: Low clouds will once again begin to thicken near the coast, pushing into nearby valleys. However, low clouds will not be as widespread as the previous morning. Patchy fog and light drizzle are possible, especially on the southeast side of the Monterey Bay. Lows will mainly be in the 40s, with a few low 50s near the water.
Friday: Sunnier and warmer with coastal highs in the 60's and 70s, mid to upper 80s in interior locations. Typical Salinas Valley winds will pick up by the late afternoon, early evening hours with gusts near 20mph.
Extended: A backtracking low pressure system is making its way west. We were and will continue to watch for a small chance of mountain rain shower/thunderstorm late Sunday into Monday as moisture streams in from the southeast. However, current model runs have kept most of the activity toward our east. With that said, temperatures because of the low will decrease slightly on Mother's Day and we could see a few more clouds at the coast.
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This week's normal temperatures:
--COASTAL CITIES--
LOW: 49ºF
HIGH: 66ºF
--INLAND CITIES--
LOW: 46ºF
HIGH: 75ºF
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-The outlook from the Climate Prediction Center for May 18th – 24th calls for the likelihood of ABOVE normal temperatures and ABOVE normal precipitation.
- El Niño/La Niña STATUS: El Niño Watch
- Forecast: Neutral through the end of spring with El Niño developing this summer.
-Area drought status: Currently drought-free
