Rain On The Horizon

Weak high pressure remains in control into Tuesday. The overall air mass will cool slightly and clouds will increase, so Tuesday will be a cooler day overall. The next round of rain arrives late Wednesday in the form of a decaying frontal system. It should still have just enough juice to make some light to moderate rain for our area into Thursday morning. Winds may be slightly gusty ahead of it on Wednesday too. Then all focus shifts to a pair of weekend systems. The first, a frontal system with a decent moisture tap, will move through on Saturday with moderate to briefly heavy rain and the potential for occasionally gusty winds. The second system will pack more of a punch with the wind and arrive on Sunday with another round of moderate to heavy rain. Wind & flood threat will be highest late in the day Sunday as impacts accumulate.

AIR QUALITY: Good

Overnight: Mostly clear to partly cloudy with a mix of low and high clouds. Patchy valley fog. Lows in the upper 30s to mid 40s on the coast and mainly 30s inland.

Tuesday: Partly cloudy with a mix of low and high clouds. Slightly cooler with highs in the upper 50s to low 60s. Breezy around the river mouths in the afternoon.

Wednesday (Valentine’s Day): Increasing clouds with rain possible after dark. Southerly winds pick up as well. Highs in the upper 50s to low 60s.

Extended: Rain lingers into Thursday, clearing late. Friday should be dry and mild, but rain & wind return Saturday with another, stronger round slated for Sunday. Showers will likely then last into early next week.
 
*Note: Any alerts from the National Weather Service in Monterey will be noted in italics above. Alerts may be edited for brevity or local clarification (in parenthesis) 

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This week's normal temperatures:
--COASTAL CITIES--
LOW: 44ºF
HIGH: 61ºF

--INLAND CITIES--
LOW: 39ºF
HIGH: 63ºF
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-The outlook from the Climate Prediction Center for February 20^th – 26^th calls for the likelihood of near normal temperatures and ABOVE normal precipitation.

- ENSO (El Niño/La Niña) STATUS: El Niño Advisory
- ENSO Forecast: Strong to Very Strong El Niño expected this winter.
-Area drought status: Currently drought-free