Return to Winter! Get Ready
Get those winter coats back out and put the flip flops away! Winter returns to the Central Coast for a couple days with rain, wind and snow on the way. A deep, cold area of low pressure will dig down the coast for Thursday and Friday. This low is unseasonably cold—perhaps in the top 10 coldest on record for this time of year. What this translates to is two days of cold temperatures, gusty northwest winds, and rounds of showers with embedded thunderstorms filled with small hail. Snow levels will drop significantly too—at least to 2,500 ft and perhaps even lower. While accumulating snow is not expected for coastal cities, the area mountains are certain to have a new coating of “white paint,” and some mid-elevation roadways may see slippery conditions. We’ll transition from unsettled weather to another round of warmer, dryer conditions next week.
AIR QUALITY: Good
Overnight: Partly to mostly cloudy skies, with cooler lows mainly in the 40s at the coast, 30s and 40s inland. West-northwest winds will be gusty at times. Most areas will remain dry until after sunrise, however; isolated showers possible near the coast and coastal mountain ranges earlier.
Thursday: Mostly cloudy with rounds of showers with embedded thunderstorms. Plentiful small hail possible with thunderstorms. Snow levels down to 2,500 ft. with snow showers anywhere from a dusting to several inches and higher for the peak. Cold, with highs in the 50s, 40s for higher elevations.
**Gale Warning** from Pigeon Pt to Pt Pinos Thursday
...beginning at 3 pm to 9 pm Thursday
...from 10 nm out for west winds 10-20 kts and seas 9-14 feet
..can cause hazardous seas
Friday: Partly to mostly cloudy with showers and chance for thunderstorms with small hail, and gusty winds. Snow showers in higher elevations. Highs mainly in the low to mid 50s with colder temps in higher terrain.
Extended: Expect dry weather for much of the weekend with sun and most of next week. Temperatures will exceed daily normals by Tuesday and will stay that way for at least a few more days.
*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: 46ºF
HIGH: 64ºF
--INLAND CITIES--
LOW: 41ºF
HIGH: 69ºF
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-The outlook from the Climate Prediction Center for April 10th – 16th calls for the likelihood of ABOVE normal temperatures and BELOW normal precipitation.
- ENSO (El Niño/La Niña) STATUS: El Niño Advisory, La Niña Watch
- ENSO Forecast: Transition from El Niño to neutral by Spring and then to La Niña by summer.
-Area drought status: Currently drought-free
