Cold, Windy & Wet
Our next weather maker will be approaching the Central Coast bringing moderate to heavy rain showers overnight into early tomorrow morning. Strong winds can gust up to 30 mph and higher especially in the mountains. The weekend we'll see a drastic drop in temperatures with daytime highs only in the 50s in most locations. Sunday is looking to be drier with maybe a linger shower but still cool. This is another cold storm system, so snow possible at the mountaintops. There's also a slight chance of an isolated thunderstorm with small hail. High pressure will move in next week and bring sunshine and warmer temps. In the meantime, get that warm coat out and have rain gear ready! Highest rainfall totals will be in the mountains of Big Sur around 1'' possible. Several inches of snow possible in the highest mt peaks.
AIR QUALITY: Good
***Gale Warning***
...til 9 pm Saturday
...for coastal waters 10 nm out from Point Pinos to Piedras Blancas
...southwest winds 15-25 kt with gusts up to 40 kt can cause hazardous seas
Overnight: Rain moving in with moderate to heavy showers possible at times. Lows in the low to upper 40s and expect strong gusty sw winds.
Saturday: Showers and slight chance for isolated thunderstorms with windy and cooler conditions. Highs mainly in the upper 50s. Rain showers could be moderate at times especially early Saturday morning. Snow possible at the highest peaks of Santa Lucia Mountains. Strong SSW winds will be gusty especially in the higher terrain and at coast, possibly up to 35-40 mph.
Sunday: Lingering showers early then drier as day goes on but still cool with below average temps in upper 50s to low 60s.
Extended: High pressure builds back in for next week with sunshine and a warm up with temps back up into the upper 60s and mid 70s coastal and mid to upper 70s inland.
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This week's normal temperatures:
--COASTAL CITIES--
LOW: 46ºF
HIGH: 64ºF
--INLAND CITIES--
LOW: 42ºF
HIGH: 70ºF
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-The outlook from the Climate Prediction Center for April 17th – 23rd 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
