Frosty Mornings
Cold air settles into the region for the first part of the week. Tuesday morning’s low temperatures will likely be the coldest of the week with widespread frost expected—even approaching the coast. Flow becomes more northwesterly Tuesday into Wednesday which will help develop a marine layer and will also keep temps cooler, especially on the coast. Rain chances increase into the weekend. More in the extended section below.
Air Quality: Good to Moderate for most areas, Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups for the San Lorenzo Valley
***FREEZE WARNING***
…for interior areas of Monterey County, all of San Benito County and the Diablos in Santa Clara County in effect from 1AM Tuesday until 9AM Tuesday and then a FREEZE WATCH in place for these areas through Thursday morning.
*For the Freeze Warning, sub-freezing temperatures as low as 28 expected. For the Freeze Watch, sub-freezing temperatures as low as 30 possible.
*Cold conditions will be hazardous to sensitive populations such as unhoused individuals. Cold Conditions can lead to hypothermia with prolonged exposure. Frost and freeze conditions could kill crops, other sensitive vegetation and possibly damage unprotected outdoor plumbing.
Take steps now to protect tender plants from the cold.
To prevent water pipes from freezing; wrap or drain or allow them to drip slowly.
**FROST ADVISORY**
…for coastal Monterey County, coastal Santa Cruz County with the exception of the “north coast”, the Santa Cruz Mountains, and the Santa Clara Valley in effect from 1AM Tuesday until 9AM Tuesday and then a FREEZE WATCH in place for these areas through Thursday morning.
*For the Frost Advisory, temperatures as low as 32 will result in frost formation. For the Freeze Watch, sub-freezing temperatures as low as 32 possible.
*Frost and freeze conditions could kill crops, other sensitive vegetation and possibly damage unprotected outdoor plumbing. Cold conditions will be hazardous to sensitive populations such as unhoused individuals. Cold Conditions can lead to hypothermia with prolonged exposure.
Take steps now to protect tender plants from the cold.
To prevent water pipes from freezing; wrap or drain or allow them to drip slowly.
Overnight: Clear and cold. Expect coastal lows in the low to upper 30s with mid-20s to low 30s inland. Light winds. Some fog possible over the southern lakes.
Tuesday: Clear early, then a few high clouds drift in from the northeast. Light drainage winds in the morning will switch onshore relatively early, pushing the marine layer back ashore. Breezy up-valley winds develop. Eventually, low clouds will appear in the layer on the coast—probably late in the day. Cooler on the coast with highs in the mid-50s to around 60ºF but warmer for most inland areas with highs in the low to mid 60s. Low clouds thicken late with patchy fog.
Wednesday: Low clouds for the coast and valleys early, then some low clouds lingering on the coast throughout the day. Cooler, with highs in the 50s on the coast and upper 50s to low 60s inland. Breezy up-valley winds late in the day.
Extended: Low clouds will stick around early Thursday with better afternoon clearing and slightly warmer temperatures. High pressure weekends and sinks southward allowing for the active storm track to get closer to us—perhaps grazing us at times with rainfall Friday into early next week. It all depends on how far south the storm track makes it—and that could make a difference between rain every day and no rain at all. We’ll likely have better resolution in the next day or so.
*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: 43ºF
HIGH: 61ºF
--INLAND CITIES--
LOW: 38ºF
HIGH: 62ºF
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-The outlook from the Climate Prediction Center for February 4th – 10th calls for the likelihood of BELOW normal temperatures and ABOVE normal precipitation.
- ENSO (El Niño/La Niña) STATUS: La Niña Advisory
- ENSO Forecast: La Niña persists into spring, then transitions to neutral by summer.
- Area drought status: Abnormally dry across the KION coverage area
- Monterey Bay Sea Surface Temperature as of January 28th : 53.0ºF (avg of 7 buoys) [January Average: 54.7ºF]
