Starting To Look More Active

Cooler and cloudier as we enter the work week.
A weather system passing to our north along with the tail end of a long-passed system will keep extra clouds in the forecast for Monday. A few sprinkles can’t be ruled out. While temperatures initially cool, high pressure quickly rebuilds Tuesday in to Wednesday with highs heading back above normal.

Air Quality: Good

Overnight: Mostly cloudy with a few sprinkles possible. Patchy fog also possible. Lows in the upper 40s to mid-50s on the coast and low 40s to low 50s inland.

Monday: Partly to mostly cloudy with a few sprinkles, and at most, a very light shower possible (mainly in the north). Windy up valleys in the afternoon. Cooler, with highs in the upper 50s to mid-60s on the coast and low 60s to mid-70s inland. Low clouds thicken late.

Tuesday: A bit of drizzle possible on the coast early under overcast skies. Then, becoming mostly sunny by afternoon. Slightly warmer and breezy out of the north-northwest. Highs in the 60s to around 70ºF on the coast and mid-60s to mid-70s inland.  

Extended: High pressure strengthens over the region on Wednesday, sending high temperatures well above normal. The warm air mass will then remain in place on Thursday, even as a weak cut-off weather system approaches from the west. There is a slight chance of rain late Thursday if the low makes it to the coast near us—though it may miss completely. A second, stronger low will approach the coast this weekend, providing perhaps better rain chances in the Sunday/Monday time period.

*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: 44ºF
HIGH: 62ºF

--INLAND CITIES--
LOW: 40ºF
HIGH: 64ºF
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-The outlook from the Climate Prediction Center for March 3^rd – 9^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: Moderate drought for eastern San Benito County and far southeastern Monterey County. Abnormally dry for the remainder of the viewing area.
 Monterey Bay Sea Surface Temperature as of February 24^th 55.2ºF (avg of 7 buoys)
[February Avg. SST: 54.9ºF]