Couple Rounds of Rain on the Way
Two frontal systems in two days!
That’s what we get to look forward to on Tuesday and Wednesday. Tuesday’s system will be weak with an uptick in the northwesterly breeze and a broken line of mostly light showers in late morning (north) to afternoon (south). Wednesday’s system is stronger but not super wet. We’ll have some prefrontal showers early in the day—mainly on the coast—with a band of rain coming through late in the day. Winds will be gusty at times with moderate rain possible with frontal passage. Showers then taper off into early Thursday morning.
King Tides return Wednesday through Friday. We’ll have some bigger swells on Wednesday into Thursday morning which could increase the chance of coastal flooding, but waves will taper off info Friday. It’s something we’re watching.
AIR QUALITY: Good
Tuesday: Partly cloudy with a chance of showers in the afternoon. Cool & breezy with highs in the 50s. Behind the weak front, clouds will gradually clear.
Overnight: Low clouds will hover over the hills/ mountain ranges while patchy fog could develop in the valleys and heavily vegetated areas. Expect partly cloudy to mostly clear conditions. Lows will be in the upper 30s to mid 40s at the coast, 30s inland, valleys upper 20s. Patchy frost is possible for far inland locations. High clouds will move back into the area just after sunrise.
From the National Weather Service in Monterey (in italics) …
**FROST ADVISORY**
For interior Monterey and San Benito Counties including areas as, Southern Salinas Valley, Arroyo Seco, Lake San Antonio, Mountains of San Benito County and Pinnacles National Park.
*In effect from 2am to 10am Wednesday.
*Temperatures as low as 30 will result in frost formation.
* Frost could kill sensitive outdoor vegetation if left uncovered.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
Take steps now to protect tender plants from the cold.
Wednesday: Clouds will increase early. Mostly cloudy with scattered showers, then rain in the late afternoon and early evening. Gusty northwesterly winds at times. Highs in the 50s.
Extended: Showers taper off into Thursday morning with dry conditions expected at least through Friday. The air mass will warm slightly, so highs will be closer to normal by the weekend. The next weather system will approach this weekend, though, there isn’t much agreement on its impacts in the models just yet. The most likely chance of rain is Saturday evening, but everything has been trending dryer. High pressure will try fighting in from the west after which could lead to a period of warmer weather. With that said, the longer range ensembles are still showing somewhat of a wetter signal after a week or so.
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This week's normal temperatures:
--COASTAL CITIES--
LOW: 43ºF
HIGH: 60ºF
--INLAND CITIES--
LOW: 37ºF
HIGH: 61ºF
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-The outlook from the Climate Prediction Center for January 16th – 22nd calls for the likelihood of ABOVE normal temperatures and ABOVE normal precipitation.
- ENSO (El Niño/La Niña) STATUS: El Niño Advisory
- ENSO Forecast: Strong to Very Strong El Niño expected this winter.
-Area drought status: Currently drought-free
