Warmer for Wednesday

Air Quality (as of 8 AM)
GOOD for all reporting stations with the exception of a few MODERATE reports in Salinas, Soledad, and Santa Cruz

WEATHER STORY
The big monsoonal high is on vacation over in Texas currently, but will nudge back to the west in the coming days. As the ridge builds, temperatures will warm across the region—more notably felt for inland areas. Another interesting aspect of its movement may be another weak surge of monsoonal moisture late Wednesday into Thursday. The most likely impact will be high clouds, but there is a slight chance of light showers as well. Beyond this surge, another area of moisture will stream in from the south into the weekend. We can attribute this stream to Tropical Cyclone Kevin in the East Pacific. Timing on this pulse will be Friday into Saturday and we’ll likely see more high clouds and possibly some light showers. Thunderstorm chances will also have to be monitored.  General southerly flow with the expanding ridge will mean a warm-up across the board for the region with above normal highs expected beginning Wednesday/Thursday and probably lasting into the weekend.

Wednesday: After morning low clouds, skies break to partly cloudy on the coast and sunny inland for a while. Expect coastal highs from 65ºF-75ºF with 77ºF-108ºF inland. High clouds increase into the evening with a chance of very light showers. Winds will pick up in the major valleys during the afternoon and early evening.

Overnight:  High level monsoon moisture arrives from the southeastern corner of the area bringing with it the potential for scattered showers. Much of the moisture will not reach the ground, but will be visible in the form of virga.

Thursday: Monsoon moisture will continue to stream through on Thursday with a chance of very light showers. Expect partly cloudy skies with coastal highs in the mid 60s to mid 70s and 80s to around 107ºF inland. Winds will pick up in the major valleys during the afternoon and early evening.

Extended:  Another moisture surge arrives Friday into Saturday with additional high clouds and perhaps a light shower or two. Warmer weather expected through the weekend, then cooler next week.

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This week's normal temperatures:
--COASTAL CITIES--
LOW: 55ºF
HIGH: 70ºF
 
--INLAND CITIES--
LOW: 53ºF
HIGH: 86ºF

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-The outlook from the Climate Prediction Center for August 18^th – 24^th  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”