Isolated thunderstorms, Watching TS Hilary
An area of low pressure offshore will continue to draw in monsoonal moisture for the next few days. This will keep a chance of showers and thunderstorms in the forecast through Friday or so. The highest probability will be over the inland mountains, but some showers may make their way toward the coast Thursday and Friday mornings. We’ll get a bit of a break on Saturday. After an initial cool-down Thursday into Friday, temperatures will swing back upward Saturday. All eyes are on Tropical Storm Hilary, located just sw of Mexico. Hilary is expected to intensify into a Cat 3 hurricane before weakening and moving toward socal coast over the weekend. Moisture from remnants is expected to have a high impact in socal with 2-4 inches of rain there. The moisture will continue to spread north toward the central coast so expect unsettled weather Sunday through early next week. There are a lot of interesting scenarios, but all are dependent on where the cyclone actually tracks. There are some scenarios where we get heavy rain locally, some with lightning, and some with warm, humid conditions. We’ll be watching closely, so make sure to stay tuned to our forecast.
AIR QUALITY: Good
Overnight: Low clouds fill back in around the coast and perhaps a bit deeper into the inland valleys. Patchy drizzle and fog. Lows in the 50s to low 60s.
Thursday: Becoming partly cloudy on the coast and mostly sunny inland. There is a slight chance of showers across the area into Thursday afternoon with isolated thunderstorms over the inland mountains. Slightly cooler with coastal highs in the 60s to low 70s and 80s to around 102ºF inland.
Friday: Slightly cooler temps and still moisture around which may lead to light scattered showers in coastal areas and maybe a thunderstorm over the inland mountains.
Extended: Dryer air arrives Saturday which should kill any storm chances and it will also allow us to warm up a bit. By Sunday, things get a little more murky as by then, the leading edge of an expanse of tropical moisture may arrive depending on the track of Tropical Storm Hilary. The uncertainly for the central coast means we could see nothing at all or widespread rainfall chances with possible flash flooding.
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This week's normal temperatures:
--COASTAL CITIES--
LOW: 55ºF
HIGH: 69ºF
--INLAND CITIES--
LOW: 53ºF
HIGH: 86ºF
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-The outlook from the Climate Prediction Center for August 23rd – 29th calls for the likelihood of ABOVE normal temperatures and ABOVE normal precipitation. Note: Little to no precipitation typically falls this time of year.
- ENSO (El Niño/La Niña) STATUS: El Niño Advisory
- Forecast: Moderate to strong El Niño expected this winter.
-Area drought status: Currently drought-free
