Cooler Start to the Week
After a beautiful Sunday, temperatures will cool off a bit. An area of low pressure offshore will slowly migrate back to the east toward the West Coast. The marine layer will deepen slightly over the next few days with an increase in low cloudcover and slightly cooler temperatures across the board. High pressure will then strengthen later in the week, reversing the trends—more sunshine and warmer temperatures. Some high cloudcover may stream in from the south late in the week as well.
Monday: Mostly cloudy early with patchy fog, then becoming partly cloudy on the coast and mostly sunny inland. Cooler, with coastal highs in the 60s and mid-70s to mid-90s inland. Windy for inland valleys in the afternoon and early evening.
Overnight: Low clouds thicken up and become widespread overnight. Patchy fog possible. Expect coastal lows in the mid to upper 50s with low to mid-50s for inland valleys and upper 50s to low 60s up in the hills.
Tuesday: More of the same with mild temperatures and partly cloudy skies by the afternoon. Coastal highs in the 60s and mid-70s to mid-90s inland. Gusty at times.
Extended: The slightly cooler and cloudier (on the coast) weather will continue through mid-week with slight warming late in the week. Some high cloudcover possible Thursday through Sunday.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
This week's normal temperatures:
--COASTAL CITIES--
LOW: 54ºF
HIGH: 69ºF
--INLAND CITIES--
LOW: 52ºF
HIGH: 86ºF
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
-The outlook from the Climate Prediction Center for August 16th – 22nd calls for the likelihood of ABOVE normal temperatures and near normal precipitation. Note: Little to no precipitation typically falls this time of year.
-El Niño/La Niña STATUS: Neutral
-Forecast into Winter: La Niña Watch
-Area drought status: Moderate drought for much of Santa Cruz & Santa Clara Counties, Abnormally dry on the east shore of the bay into San Benito County. No drought classification for much of Monterey County outside of the Gabilan Range.