Slowly Drying Out as Warm Weather Starts to Move In
High pressure begins to build in off to our southwest and will play storm deflector for the better part of the next week. Some high cloudcover will spill over the ridge and into our lives from time to time, but just enough to color up our sunrises and sunsets. High temperatures exceed normal by Friday and will be well above—10-15ºF above—through and out of the weekend. Check out the extended section below for the next chance of rain.
AIR QUALITY: Good
Thursday: Partly cloudy to mostly sunny. Slightly warmer with highs in the upper 50s to low 60s. Breezy northwesterly onshore winds around the river mouths in the afternoon. High clouds increase late. With a slight chance of an isoalted shower/drizzle in the Santa Cruz mountains by late evening.
Overnight: Increasing high clouds will make for partly cloudy skies. Cooler lows expected with most locations dropping back in the 40s near the coast, 30s and 40s inland. Few areas of patchy fog possible by morning.
Friday: Scattered high clouds, otherwise warmer with highs in the 60s to around 70ºF. Winds will remain light.
Extended: Warm, dry weather will continue through Monday or Tuesday. Then, things get interesting. The jet stream will be screaming across the Pacific with a significant fetch of moisture which will initially be pointed to our north, but may sweep down toward us around the end of the month. This may mean heavier rainfall and stormy conditions for us, so stay tuned!
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This week's normal temperatures:
--COASTAL CITIES--
LOW: 43ºF
HIGH: 61ºF
--INLAND CITIES--
LOW: 38ºF
HIGH: 62ºF
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-The outlook from the Climate Prediction Center for February 1st - 7th calls for the likelihood of BELOW 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
