Rain Returns
The moisture plume moves back north overnight with rain spreading into the Monterey Bay Area by dawn. The coastal mountains of Monterey County should pick up a couple more inches of rain while valleys will be dealing with rain-shadowing. Lesser amounts are currently expected north of the bay, but if the plume does push far enough north, that may have to be adjusted. A secondary cold front will then approach, pushing through on Sunday with another period of light to moderate rain and potentially gusty winds. Showers will likely follow all the way into Monday before we finally dry out. All the while, temperatures will remain well below normal.
AIR QUALITY: Good to Moderate
Overnight: Light to moderate rain will slowly spread from south to north. Lows mainly in the 40s with a few 30s in the Santa Cruz Mountain valleys.
Saturday: Periods of rain with some clearing in the north in the afternoon/evening. Rain will be fairly continuous for our southern mountains throughout the day. Cool, with highs in the upper 40s to mid 50s.
Sunday: A cold front will bring light to moderate rain to the Monterey Bay region early in the day with gusty winds possible. Then, isolated showers will be possible into the evening. Cool, with highs in the upper 40s to 50s.
Extended: Showers linger Monday and Tuesday with the upper level low cut off just to our west. Temperatures stay cool, if not cold with highs remaining in the upper 40s to 50s. We’ll dry out starting Wednesday, but won’t necessarily warm up! In fact, highs look to remain cool for this time of year with mainly 50s—but lows will get colder as the air dries out.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
This week's normal temperatures:
--COASTAL CITIES--
LOW: 43ºF
HIGH: 62ºF
--INLAND CITIES--
LOW: 38ºF
HIGH: 63ºF
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
-The outlook from the Climate Prediction Center for December 10th – 16th calls for the likelihood of BELOW normal temperatures and ABOVE normal precipitation.
- El Niño/La Niña STATUS: La Niña Advisory
- Forecast: Weak La Niña into the Winter
-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”
