Rain Chances
Another dry day with sunshine and pleasant temps. Clouds will be on the increase for Wednesday with light rain chances increasing Wednesday night into Thursday as a series of storm systems will arrive to the Central Coast for the rest of the week. More measurable rain expected to arrive late Friday into Saturday with temps trending downward so a big change from the stretch of beautiful weather we've been enjoying. Get the rain gear ready!
AIR QUALITY: Good to Moderate
Today: Mostly sunny with high clouds passing through. Warm, with highs in the mid-60s to low 70s. Light offshore winds at times.
Overnight: Increasing clouds and not quite as chilly with lows low to upper 40s and still chance for patchy frost in far inland with temps dropping back down into the 30s.
Wednesday: After another cold and potentially frosty start, expect highs to return to above normal territory, though cooler than Tuesday. Highs mainly in the 60s. Clouds increase with a chance of light rain on the coast late.
Extended: Rain is likely overnight Wednesday into Thursday as a weather system passes through. Rainfall should remain light and will be accompanied by breezy onshore winds. Expect partial clearing into Thursday afternoon. The next system will take aim at our area late Friday into Saturday. Timing is all over the place for this one—some models as early as Friday afternoon and some holding off a full 24 hours later! I think the mostly likely time to see rain will be early in the day on Saturday. Moderate rain and gusty winds will be possible with this system. Showers could linger into Sunday and a trailing system is then possible early next week. There is also some potential for high surf in combination with king tides this coming weekend which could result in some minor coastal flooding. Lots to keep track of, so stay tuned to the forecast!
*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
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This week's normal temperatures:
--COASTAL CITIES--
LOW: 42ºF
HIGH: 60ºF
--INLAND CITIES--
LOW: 37ºF
HIGH: 60ºF
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-The outlook from the Climate Prediction Center for December 17th – 23rd calls for the likelihood of ABOVE normal temperatures and ABOVE normal precipitation.
- ENSO (El Niño/La Niña) STATUS: La Niña Watch
- ENSO Forecast: Transition to La Niña into the fall and persist through the winter months.
- Area drought status: Abnormally dry for areas around Monterey Bay northward. Drought-free elsewhere.- Monterey Bay Sea Surface Temperature as of December 9th : 53.9ºF (avg of 6 buoys) [December Average: 55.0ºF]
