Ending the weekend with a Sunny Sunday

WEATHER STORY
Expect mostly sunny skies with building high pressure through the weekend. Temperatures will warm closer to normal on the coast and above normal inland into early next week, before some cooling mid-week.

AIR QUALITY: GOOD

*BEACH HAZARD STATEMENT*

… in effect Sunday 10am through Sunday 9pm, for the entire coastline of Santa Cruz and Monterey counties, including the Big Sur coast.

• Increased risk of sneaker waves and strong rip currents along the coast.
• Dangerous swimming and surfing conditions and localized beach erosion.
• Highest risk of sneaker waves and strong rip currents during Sunday afternoon and evening.
• Stay off coastal rocks and jetties. Keep children close, keep pets on leashes, and never turn your back to the ocean. Remain out of the water to avoid hazardous swimming conditions.

Sunday: Any fog/ low clouds will clear early to mostly sunny skies. Warmer yet, especially inland with highs mostly in the 70s, and a few low 80s. Coastal locations will be at or slightly above seasonable, with temperatures remaining in the 60s with the continued onshore flow. Light northwest winds.

Overnight: A few low clouds for the coast and inland valleys. Lows in the mid to low 40s for most locations, far interior locations will drop into the mid to upper 30s.

Monday: Warmest day of the week, at least inland, with 70s and 80s. Coastal cities will also see a slight increase in temperatures, with mid to upper 60s, a few 70s in northern portions of the Monterey Bay, however, onshore flow will remain persistent. Expect mostly sunny skies to start, with clouds moving in late in the afternoon and pushing inland by the evening.

Extended: Some cooling mid-week, as a dry cold front passes to the north. Though no precipitation is expected, the system will increase low clouds around the coast which could squeeze out a little drizzle. Winds will also become gusty at times as the system passes. Temperatures will level off thereafter leading into the following weekend. Rain chances look slim until the first week of May.

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This week's normal temperatures:
--COASTAL CITIES--
LOW: 47ºF
HIGH: 66ºF

--INLAND CITIES--
LOW: 43ºF
HIGH: 72ºF

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-The outlook from the Climate Prediction Center for April 31^st – May 7^th calls for the likelihood of BELOW temperatures and near normal precipitation.
- El Niño/La Niña STATUS: La Niña Advisory
- Forecast: Weak La Niña into the Fall

-Area drought status: “Severe Drought” for most of the viewing area with the far eastern fringes of Santa Benito and southeastern corner of Monterey County in “Extreme Drought.”