A Warm & Dry Period

SALINAS, Calif. (KION) – Expect a big warmup into the weekend! High pressure officially takes over on the California Coast Friday. After a chilly morning, highs return to normal Friday and then above for Saturday & Sunday. A weak system will slide by early Monday morning, however—more in the extended forecast below.  
 
Air Quality: Good 
 
Overnight: Mostly clear and cool with just a few low clouds possible on the coast and patchy fog in valley bottoms. Cool, with coastal lows in the low to mid-40s and low to upper 30s inland. Patchy frost also possible in higher elevation valleys in the south.  
 
Friday: Sunny with just a few high clouds and a few flat cumulus over the hills in the afternoon. Warmer, with coastal highs in the low to upper 60s and upper 60s to mid-70s inland. Breezy up valleys in the afternoon.  
 
Saturday: Mostly sunny with a few high clouds passing through. Warmer yet with coastal highs in the 60s to around 70ºF and widespread 70s for inland valleys. Breezy up valleys in the afternoon.  
 
Extended: Temperatures flatten on Sunday as high clouds increase from the west due to an approaching weather system. Some low clouds will be possible late. Then, a weak cold front will pass through early on Monday and could bring a few sprinkles. In its wake, we’ll cool slightly but remain seasonable. High pressure builds back in through mid-week but we’ll remain in northwest flow which could be windy at times on the coast.  

*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: 46ºF 
HIGH: 64ºF   

--INLAND CITIES-- 
LOW: 41ºF 
HIGH: 69ºF   
 
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-The outlook from the Climate Prediction Center for April 11th – 17th calls for the likelihood of ABOVE normal temperatures and BELOW normal precipitation.  
- ENSO (El Niño/La Niña) STATUS: La Niña Advisory 
- ENSO Forecast: Neutral conditions expected by April and then to persist into summer   
- Area drought status: Moderate drought for far southeastern Monterey County. Abnormally dry for southeastern Monterey County and eastern San Benito County. Drought-free for the remainder of the KION coverage area.  
Monterey Bay Sea Surface Temperature as of April 4th: 54.7ºF (avg. of 7 buoys) 
[Historic March Avg. SST: 55.1ºF]