Tracking Labor Day Weekend Heat

Things are heating up in the weather department. A strong ridge of high pressure will slowly build in from the southeast as we head into Labor Day Weekend. It will begin to squish our deep marine layer into submission, keeping clouds & fog back at the coast most nights. Temperatures will generally keep rising throughout the week and through the weekend into next week, perhaps peaking on Labor Day itself. Inland highs may soar to 20ºF above normal! At the coast, it looks like winds will remain onshore, but widespread 70s-80s and even some 90s will be possible by Sunday. Obviously this long-lived heat wave could have some effects on your health, so we’ll be watching it closely. Please stay tuned to the forecast.

AIR QUALITY: GOOD to MODERATE

Wednesday: Mostly sunny on the coast with highs in the mid 60s to upper 70s and sunny and warming further inland with highs in the 80s to around 108ºF. Sea breezes pick up into the afternoon and become windy for inland valleys from the late afternoon into the early evening.

Overnight: Mostly clear overnight—can’t rule out a few low clouds, but nothing extensive. Some fog possible right along the coast our out over the bay. Expect lows in the 50s on the coast, upper 40s to 50s for inland valleys, and 60s for the far eastern valleys of San Benito County.

Extended: Temperatures will keep warming into the weekend, only briefly pausing on Friday. Coastal areas may continue to see fog at night with a shallow marine layer persisting. Inland areas will be hot & mostly sunny into next week.

***EXCESSIVE HEAT WARNING*** (from the NWS in Monterey in italics…)
... for all inland areas south of Monterey Bay beginning Thursday and north of Monterey Bay beginning Saturday and lasting until Tuesday

*Excessive Heat Watch*
... for the coastal areas and lower elevation valleys of Monterey, Santa Cruz, and San Benito Counties beginning Saturday and lasting through Tuesday.

Details on both of these alerts to be added soon.


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This week's normal temperatures:
--COASTAL CITIES--
LOW: 55ºF
HIGH: 72ºF

--INLAND CITIES--
LOW: 52ºF
HIGH: 86ºF

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-The outlook from the Climate Prediction Center for September 7^th – September 13^th calls for the likelihood of ABOVE normal temperatures and near normal* precipitation.

*Note: Little to no precipitation typically falls this time of year.
- 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 “Extreme Drought” in southern San Benito and southeastern Monterey Counties. The southeastern third of San Benito County has been upgraded to “Exceptional Drought”