Showers for Sunday and beyond

A slow-moving low pressure system will make its way down the west coast this weekend, bringing much cooler temperatures, periods of rain, and strong gusty winds.

As the upper level trough remains offshore into early next week, we can expect unsettled conditions through Tuesday.

By Saturday evening, rainfall totals in Santa Cruz mountains ranged from 1.00-1.30" in the Santa Cruz mountains, with .25-.50" near the coast, and just a few hundredths of an inch in the Salinas Valley.

Along with rain, the system produced gusty south and southwest winds, prompting a Small Craft Advisory along the coast and over Monterey Bay, and a Wind Advisory for the coast from northern Monterey County to Big Sur, including the Santa Lucia range.

While the trough remains off our coast, several more rounds of rain showers are likely. Snow levels will drop in our mountains and there is also some potential for thunderstorms early next week.

Look for a brief break mid-week, followed by another system by the end of the week.

Sunday: Mostly cloudy with rounds of showers Cool and breezy with highs in the 50s.
 
Extended:  Shower chances continue Monday/Tuesday with highs mainly in the 50s. Dryer, warmer weather is expected Wednesday/Thursday, but more rain is possible late in the week.                                                                                                                                           
The outlook from the Climate Prediction Center for March 21st-27th calls for the likelihood of BELOW temperatures and ABOVE normal precipitation.

El Niño/La Niña STATUS: Neutral
Forecast into Summer: Neutral

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

--INLAND CITIES--
LOW: 40ºF
HIGH: 67ºF