Rinse & Repeat

Calmer weather for the weekend but grab those warmer coats! Clearing skies will bring plenty of sunshine but temps will take a tumble with frost/freeze alerts at night. Cool, blustery conditions will continue as drier north-northwest flow sets in for the next few days. Expect cold mornings and cool afternoons. Another system will arrive mid week and bring more chances for rain and expected to be moderate to heavy so stay tuned.

Air Quality: Good

Overnight: Mostly clear. Northwest winds will be breezy at times. Lows will be much cooler dropping into the upper 20s to low 30s inland, and 30s to low 40s near the coast. Frost/Freeze alerts.

***FREEZE WARNING***
…for the southern valleys and higher terrain of Monterey & San Benito Counties and the Diablo Range in South Santa Clara County in effect until 9AM Sunday.

*Sub-freezing temperatures as low as 26 expected.

*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.

Be sure to open sink cabinet doors and/or drip faucets. This may help reduce or prevent damage to uninsulated pipes and other plumbing.

**FROST ADVISORY**
…for the lower elevation valleys of Monterey & San Benito Counties, the coast of Monterey & Santa Cruz Counties, the Santa Cruz Mountains, Northern Salinas Valley, Carmel Valley and Hollister Valley and the Santa Clara Valley in effect from until 9AM Sunday.

*Temperatures as low as 32 will result in frost formation.

*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.

Be sure to cover or tend to sensitive plants and vegetation as they may be damaged by frost.

Sunday: Rinse and repeat! Clear skies and sunny with highs in the 50s to around 60ºF. North-northwesterly winds becoming gusty late in the day.

Monday: More of the same with mostly sunny skies and cool daytime high temps in the 50s.

Extended: Cool north-northwest flow will continue into early next week with the air mass slowly drying. Mostly clear skies will lead to cold nights and the cool air mass will only support cool afternoons. Sunday and Monday mornings will likely be the coldest with patchy frost to the coast and widespread frost inland. Then, the pattern becomes more active again. A relatively dry system will swing in from the north on Tuesday and may bring a few showers but it will also bring a reinforcing bout of cooler air. A stronger system may come in off the Pacific later in the week and there looks to be some potential for heavier rainfall.

*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: 45ºF
HIGH: 61ºF

--INLAND CITIES--
LOW: 44ºF
HIGH: 64ºF
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-The outlook from the Climate Prediction Center for February 13^th -  February 17^th 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 for Santa Cruz County, San Benito County, Monterey County and Santa Clara County. Drought-free elsewhere
- Monterey Bay Sea Surface Temperature as of February 7^th 54.3ºF (avg of 7 buoys)