Winter Returns Starting Tuesday

Enjoy the wonderful weather this Presidents Day Weekend. It won’t last through the week! High pressure will remain in control with a warm, dry air mass in place. While mornings will be cool, highs are expected to remain above normal for this time of year. Then, things change. The ridge moves west and makes room for a deep, cold trough of low pressure to dive down the West Coast from the north. It will arrive with a bluster on Tuesday and the weather will remain unsettled through Friday with gusty winds, cold temperatures, and rounds of showers. Snow levels will also drop. Just how low is the interesting part of the forecast. At this point, snowfall should remain well above sea level, but populated areas in the Santa Cruz Mountains can’t be ruled out. Stay tuned to the forecast!

AIR QUALITY: Good

Overnight: Mostly clear. Cool, with lows in the mid 30s to low 40s on the coast and 20s-30s inland.

Monday: Mostly sunny and slightly cooler. Highs mainly in the 60s.

Tuesday: Increasing clouds and increasing northwesterly onshore winds. Highs in the 50s for most areas. Wind becoming quite gusty in the afternoon. Showers possible after dark.

**WIND ADVISORY**
… for the entire KION coverage are in effect from 1PM Tuesday until 1PM Wednesday.

*Northwest winds 25 to 35 mph with gusts up to 55 mph.

*Gusty winds could blow around unsecured objects. Tree limbs could be blown down and a few power outages may result.

Use extra caution when driving, especially if operating a high profile vehicle. Secure loose outdoor objects.

Extended: Expect cold, windy, showery conditions Wednesday/Thursday with lowering snow levels. Highs remain in the 40s to low 50s. Accumulating snow possible down to 2kft, with flakes getting even lower. We’ll dry out briefly next weekend before active weather returns early next week.

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This week's normal temperatures:
--COASTAL CITIES--
LOW: 44ºF
HIGH: 62ºF

--INLAND CITIES--
LOW: 40ºF
HIGH: 64ºF

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-The outlook from the Climate Prediction Center for February 27^th – March 5^th calls for the likelihood of BELOW normal temperatures and ABOVE normal precipitation.

- El Niño/La Niña STATUS: La Niña Advisory
- Forecast: Transition to neutral with possible El Niño developing this summer
-Area drought status: Moderate Drought (D1) for the northern Santa Cruz Mountains, San Benito County, southeastern Monterey County and southern Santa Clara County Abnormally dry (D0) for the rest of Monterey & Santa Cruz Counties.