Foreseeably Seasonable

Air Quality (as of 8 AM)
GOOD for all reporting stations in the viewing area.

WEATHER STORY
Smoke has settled into the region behind a trough of low pressure which is now moving into the Northern Rockies. Northerly flow behind the trough along with myriad wildfires in Northern California are the culprits for the smoke. Still, the smoke seems to be hovering just above the air that most of us are breathing! Air quality will likely diminish overnight as more smoke moves in and drainage winds carry air from mountaintops down into the valleys. Beyond the smoke, inland temperatures will warm slightly in the coming days as the trough departs. Another trough will rotate down into the Pacific Northwest from Canada, however, which will delay any major warming. At the coast, the marine layer will likely stabilize after Tuesday/Wednesday’s disruption. That should push us back into the normal daily cycle of low clouds and seasonable to slightly cool temps through the weekend.


Thursday: Widespread low clouds overnight and into the morning with drizzle possible on the north/east sides of the bay and perhaps on the Big Sur Coast. Skies will break to mostly sunny inland, but will likely remain partly cloudy on the coast. Smoky conditions will continue. Expect coastal highs in the mid 60s to low 70s with mainly 70s-80s inland. Winds pick up on the coast and inland valleys during the afternoon and evening.

Overnight: A fleet of low clouds cover the the majority of the immediate coast and upper Salinas Valley. Patchy fog and drizzle are likely for the peninsula.

Friday: Widespread low clouds overnight and into the morning. Skies will break to mostly sunny inland, but will likely remain partly cloudy on the coast. Smoky conditions will continue, but may thin a little. Expect coastal highs in the mid 60s to low 70s with mainly 70s-80s inland. Winds pick up on the coast and inland valleys during the afternoon and evening.

Extended: Smoke may linger for a few more days, but slowly thin out. Coastal areas will remain in the a persistent pattern of low clouds on the coast and seasonable to slightly cool highs. Inland locations will slowly warm to normal by Sunday/Monday and then slightly above through mid-week next week.

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This week's normal temperatures:
--COASTAL CITIES--
LOW: 55ºF
HIGH: 71ºF
 
--INLAND CITIES--
LOW: 52ºF
HIGH: 86ºF

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-The outlook from the Climate Prediction Center for August 26^th –  September 1^st calls for the likelihood of ABOVE normal temperatures and near normal precipitation*.
*Note: little to no precipitation usually falls this time of year.
 
-El Niño/La Niña STATUS: Neutral
-Forecast into Winter: La Niña Watch

-Area drought status: “Extreme Drought” for the entire viewing area with the far southeastern corner of Monterey County and far eastern San Benito County considered “Exceptional Drought”