Contending With Clouds

Deep southwesterly flow continues on Wednesday. A trough of low pressure to our west will slowly move toward us, keeping temperatures below normal and the marine layer deep. The moist onshore flow will continue to bring bouts of drizzle to the coastal mountains—especially those that slope off to the southwest. Clouds will favor the north side of the bay with clearing on the south. At the trough passes late Wednesday, flow will switch to the northwest, so by Thursday morning, drizzle and low clouds will be more focused on the south side of the bay. A trailing weather system will then move through early Friday and could bring a few light showers.

AIR QUALITY: Good

Overnight: Low clouds thicken across the area under a deep marine layer. A few high clouds will also pass through from the southwest. Drizzle possible on south/west-facing slopes. Lows in the low 40s on the coast and mid 40s to low 50s inland.

Wednesday: Partial clearing in the afternoon, especially on the south side of the bay. Gusty southwest winds at times. Highs in the upper 50s to mid 60s on the coast and 60s to around 70ºF inland. An isolated shower will be possible over southeastern San Benito County in the afternoon.

Thursday: Mostly cloudy early, becoming partly cloudy in the afternoon with clouds favored on the south side of the bay and clearing on the north. Otherwise, expect partly cloudy skies with a few sprinkles possible in the mountains. Coastal highs in the upper 50s to mid 60s with 60s to around 70ºF inland.

Extended: A weak system passes by early Friday with some drizzle or perhaps a few light showers possible. We’ll break to partly cloudy late in the day with gusty northwest winds with the chance of an isolated lingering shower. Gusty northwest winds will continue through the weekend and into early next week, though temperatures will warm back to normal from Saturday on and conditions should remain dry.


*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: 47ºF
HIGH: 64ºF

--INLAND CITIES--
LOW: 42ºF
HIGH: 71ºF
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-The outlook from the Climate Prediction Center for May 1^st - 7^th calls for the likelihood of BERLOW normal temperatures and ABOVE 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