Showers Linger
Showers taper off into early Monday as the weekend’s weather system begins to move on. We’ll remain in cool, blustery flow, however! Temperatures will try to warm up into Tuesday, but clouds will increase as a low strengthens off to our southwest and pushing moisture our way.
Air Quality: Good
**HIGH SURF ADVISORY**
... for north and west-facing coastal areas of Monterey & Santa Cruz Counties in effect until 9PM Monday
*Westerly swell increasing to 10 to 11 feet with swell periods 17 seconds resulting in breakers up to 19 feet from Saturday morning through Monday evening.
*Dangerous swimming and surfing conditions and localized beach erosion. Sneaker waves can unexpectedly run significantly farther up the beach than normal, including over rocks and jetties. These waves can suddenly knock people off their feet and quickly pull them into the cold ocean waters, where currents will be stronger than normal. These waves can also carry driftwood logs and other debris.
Inexperienced swimmers should remain out of the water due to dangerous surf conditions.
Remain out of the water to avoid hazardous swimming conditions.
*Beach Hazards Statement*
…for the north side of Monterey Bay in effect through Monday evening.
*A long period westerly swell will result in an increased risk of sneaker waves and rip currents with breaking waves of 12 to 14 feet.
*Dangerous swimming and surfing conditions and localized beach erosion. Sneaker waves can unexpectedly run significantly farther up the beach than normal, including over rocks and jetties. These waves can suddenly knock people off their feet and quickly pull them into the cold ocean waters, where currents will be stronger than normal. These waves can also carry driftwood logs and other debris.
Remain out of the water to avoid hazardous swimming conditions.
Overnight: Partly cloudy with isolated showers, mainly for the coast and coastal mountains. Snow levels down to as low as 3,000ft. Lows in the 40s with 30s possible in clearer areas. Gusty northwesterly winds at times.
Monday: Isolated showers early, especially for the coast and coastal mountains, then becoming partly cloudy with showers ending for the afternoon. Gusty northwesterly winds at times. Slightly warmer, but still cool, with highs in the mid-50s to around 60ºF on the coast and upper 50s to low 60s for inland valleys. Clouds increase late.
Tuesday: Mostly cloudy on the coast and partly cloudy inland. A few sprinkles possible late. Warmer with calmer winds. Highs in the upper 50s to mid-60s for most areas.
Extended: Moisture will stream in from the southwest as a storm system develops nearby on Wednesday. Widespread light to moderate rain expected through the day. A cold trough will dig in from the north and keep the shower machine going through Thursday. Thunderstorms may be possible and snow levels will probably drop. Precip should come to an end early Friday morning, setting up a few dry days before the next storm system arrives. Highs push back above normal by Saturday, which looks pretty nice, actually! Clouds & wind increase on Sunday, especially late, as the next storm system approaches from the west.
*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: 62ºF
--INLAND CITIES--
LOW: 40ºF
HIGH: 65ºF
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-The outlook from the Climate Prediction Center for March 10th – 16th 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 March 3rd: 53.8ºF (avg of 7 buoys)
[Historic March Avg. SST: 55.3ºF]
