Chilly Overnight, Saturday the Calm Before the Storm
AIR QUALITY:
GOOD to MODERATE
WEATHER STORY
A cooler, drier air mass will move in for the next couple of days with a chilly morning Saturday. A stronger system will then arrive out of the weekend bringing moderate to heavy rain along with gusty winds. Additional rain will be possible for the remainder of next week. We’ll also see a chance of thunderstorms on Tuesday along with lowering snow levels. There are a lot of pieces with this coming system, so please stay tuned to the forecast.
Overnight: Mostly clear with cold temperatures and frost likely for inland locations. mid-30s to low 40s along the coast. 20s to low 30s inland.
...below text from the National Weather Service
***FREEZE WARNING***
BEGINS MIDNIGHT THROUGH SATURDAY 8AM.
* WHAT...Sub-freezing temperatures as low as 26 possible.
* WHERE...Southern Salinas Valley/Arroyo Seco and Lake San
Antonio.
* IMPACTS...Frost and freeze conditions could kill crops, other
sensitive vegetation and possibly damage unprotected outdoor
plumbing.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
Take steps now to protect tender plants from the cold. To prevent
freezing and possible bursting of outdoor water pipes they should
be wrapped, drained, or allowed to drip slowly. Those that have
in-ground sprinkler systems should drain them and cover above-
ground pipes to protect them from freezing.
Saturday: Colder in the morning with widespread frost inland (lows in the mid-20s to mid-30s) and patchy frost to the coast (lows in the 30s). Skies remain mostly sunny through the day with an increase of high clouds late. Expect highs in the 50s to low 60s.
Sunday: Mostly cloudy. Light showers will begin to push through early for northern portions of Santa Cruz County. The showers will become moderate to heavy heading into the afternoon, becoming more widespread through areas of Monterey County and parts of San Benito County. The highest precipitation totals are expected for the Santa Cruz Mountains and the Santa Lucia Range (especially around the Big Sur Coast). Rain will continue to be moderate to heavy through the overnight night hours.
Extended: A secondary system will keep the rain machine going into Tuesday where lowering snow levels and the chance for thunderstorms will make things even more interesting. Additional waves follow, bringing more rain later in the week.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
This week's normal temperatures:
--COASTAL CITIES--
LOW: 43ºF
HIGH: 61ºF
--INLAND CITIES--
LOW: 38ºF
HIGH: 62ºF
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
-The outlook from the Climate Prediction Center for December 18th – 24th calls for the likelihood of BELOW normal temperatures and ABOVE normal precipitation.
- El Niño/La Niña STATUS: La Niña Advisory
- Forecast into Winter: Weak La Niña
-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”
