Wednesday Is The Coolest

Another cooler-than-normal day expected on Wednesday across the region. Surface flow will switch to the southwest briefly, pushing cooler marine air into Santa Cruz County where temperatures will drop 5-15ºF day to day. However, the south side of the bay is likely to warm slightly due to the switch in flow. Winds will switch back to the northwest for the remainder of the week and weak troughing over the West Coast will eventually give way to a ridge surging in from the south. High temperatures return to normal around Friday and then exceed it for the weekend.

AIR QUALITY: Good

Overnight: Overcast on the coast with drizzle possible. Clouds also push into inland valleys. Expect lows in the 50s with a higher valleys dipping into the upper 40s.

Wednesday: Mostly cloudy on the coast with patchy drizzle possible on the north side of the bay—mostly sunny inland with a few clouds along the hills nearer to the coast. Expect highs in the 60s to low 70s on the coast—warmest around Monterey—and 70s to mid 80s inland. Breezy southwesterly onshore winds becoming windy for inland valleys late in the day.

Thursday: Returning to a “cloudier on the south side of the bay” scenario with afternoon skies ending up partly cloudy on the coast and mostly sunny inland. Slightly warmer with coastal highs in the mid 60s to mid 70s—warmest on the north side of the bay—and low 70s to around 90ºF inland. Windy for inland valleys late in the day.

Extended: Temperatures keep heading upward Friday and Saturday where they may peak before leveling off 5-10ºF above normal. Some cooling expected by Tuesday.

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This week's normal temperatures:
--COASTAL CITIES--
LOW: 54ºF
HIGH: 70ºF

--INLAND CITIES--
LOW: 52ºF
HIGH: 85ºF
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-The outlook from the Climate Prediction Center for September 13^th – 19^th calls for the likelihood of ABOVE normal temperatures and near 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