Weekend Rain Chances

Rain chances will continue in the coming days as we sit on the edge of an atmospheric river. After a drier afternoon, rain chances remain for late Friday into Saturday then rain will likely hold off until Sunday, ending the weekend with a stronger system, more in the extended forecast below. Dangerous surf and beach conditions continue.

AIR QUALITY: Good

**DENSE FOG ADVISORY**
…for coastal Monterey County and valley areas of Monterey & San Benito Counties in effect until 11AM Saturday

*Visibility one quarter mile or less in dense fog.

*Low visibility could make driving conditions hazardous.

If driving, slow down, use your headlights, and leave plenty of distance ahead of you.

**HIGH SURF ADVISORY**
..for the immediate coast of Santa Cruz & Monterey Counties from until 4AM Sunday.

*Large breaking waves of 20 to 30 feet.

*Dangerous swimming and surfing conditions and localized beach erosion can be expected. Large waves can sweep across the beach without warning, pulling people into the sea from rocks, jetties and beaches. Sudden immersion in cold water can result in cold water shock even for the most experienced swimmers. Cold water shock can result in dramatic changes in   breathing, heart rate and blood pressure, greatly increasing the risk of drowning in rough open waters.

Inexperienced swimmers should remain out of the water due to dangerous surf conditions.

Overnight: Lows will be a touch cooler, with upper 40s to low 50s. Partly to mostly cloudy skies. Areas of patchy fog likely. Breezy at times. Chance of rain by morning.

Saturday: A few morning showers, then partly cloudy with highs in the upper 50s to mid 60s. Breezy at times.

Sunday: Cloudy with rain showers and brief gusty winds. Highs in the upper 50s to low 60s.

Extended: A ridge of high pressure builds for next week bringing back sunshine. Drier weather returns out to round out 2024. The air mass will be cool for a few days before we begin to warm up by the first of the year.

*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

-----------------------------------------------------------------------
This week's normal temperatures:
--COASTAL CITIES--
LOW: 41ºF
HIGH: 59ºF

--INLAND CITIES--
LOW: 36ºF
HIGH: 60ºF
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
-The outlook from the Climate Prediction Center for January 3^rd – 9^th calls for the likelihood of ABOVE normal temperatures and BELOW 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 San Benito County, northeastern Monterey County and eastern Santa Clara County. Drought-free elsewhere
- Monterey Bay Sea Surface Temperature as of December 27^th : 55.6ºF (avg of 7 buoys) [December Average: 55.0ºF]