Even Warmer, Getting Gusty

Air Quality (as of 7:00AM):
Good  for all reporting stations.

Weather Story: High pressure will dominate just off the coast for most of the week. The associated dome of air along with generally offshore winds will allow for significant warming for the Monterey Bay Area early in the week. Cooler surface air masses will invade from the north Wednesday and Saturday, but the general flow will remain offshore during the period and high temperatures will likely remain at or above normal. On the flip side, mornings will be chilly because of the dry air mass in place. The first wet system could break through around the 1^st or 2^nd of March.

 
Tuesday: Offshore winds pick up over the hills early Tuesday morning and will strengthen into the afternoon. In the low levels, winds will remain light and offshore which will lead to another warm day with widespread 70s for highs.

Overnight: Another mild night with clear skies. Expect lows in the 40s on the coast and mainly 30s inland.

***WIND ADVISORY*** …STRONG OFFSHORE WINDS ARE EXPECTED 10AM WEDNESDAY THROUGH 10PM.

-Strong and gusty northeast winds are expected to increase on
Wednesday into Wednesday evening. Strongest gusts forecast to be
at highest peaks and ridges of the North Bay Mountains and the
East Bay Hills with strong wind gusts aloft extending as far south
as the Santa Cruz Mountains. Winds have the potential to locally
mix down to the valley surface, particularly in the West Delta and
the East Bay Valleys. Winds are expected to diminish late
Wednesday night, though remaining gusty at higher elevations into
early Thursday morning.

Wednesday: Offshore winds continue and could be strong in the hills. Cooler air will move into the region with most locations seeing highs drop 5-10ºF. These highs will remain above normal, however! Winds could occasionally mix down into the lower elevations.

Extended: Expect chilly mornings Thursday and Friday with seasonable to slightly warm highs. Offshore winds will continue at times through around Saturday. Then, a wet weather system will approach out of the weekend.

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This week's normal temperatures:
--COASTAL CITIES--
LOW: 45ºF
HIGH: 62ºF
 
--INLAND CITIES--
LOW: 40ºF
HIGH: 65ºF

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-The outlook from the Climate Prediction Center for March 2^nd – 8^th calls for the likelihood of BELOW normal temperatures and BELOW normal precipitation. 
-El Niño/La Niña STATUS: Weak La Niña
-Forecast into Summer: Neutral

-Area drought status: Abnormally dry for most of the viewing area, moderate drought for most of Santa Clara County outside of the Santa Cruz Mountains and the northeastern sections of San Benito County.