A Slow Warmup

SALINAS, Calif. (KION) – Temperatures will head back upward for most on Tuesday as high pressure begins to build in from the south. Increased northwesterly onshore flow may cool the peninsula a couple of degrees, however. The overall warming trend will continue through mid-week as the ridge maxes out over the area with highs 10-15ºF above normal by Wednesday.  

Air Quality: Good   

Overnight: Partly cloudy with a few high clouds passing through and patchy low clouds. Some fog possible. Lows in the 40s to low 50s on the coast and mainly 40s inland.  
 
Tuesday: Decreasing clouds, becoming mostly sunny by afternoon. Warmer for most with coastal highs in the low 60s to mid-70s—warmest on the north side of the bay—and 70s to around 80ºF inland. Breezy northwesterly onshore winds becoming windy up valleys late in the day.  
 
Wednesday: Mostly sunny and warmer yet. Expect highs in the 60s-70s on the coast and 70s-80s inland. Breezy northwesterly onshore and up-valley winds in the afternoon.  
 
Extended: High pressure weakens by Thursday with a trough approaching from the west. Coastal areas will cool 4-5ºF while inland areas maintain the heat of Wednesday. Coastal winds will pick up and then strengthen with a more impressive cool-down on Friday. We’ll be cooler yet by Saturday with gusty northwesterly winds at times. Beyond the weekend, the forecast is less certain.  

 *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.     

-----------------------------------------------------------------------     

This week's normal temperatures:     

--COASTAL CITIES--     
LOW: 46ºF  
HIGH: 64ºF     

--INLAND CITIES--   
LOW: 42ºF  
HIGH: 70ºF     
 
--------------------------------------------------------------------------     

-The outlook from the Climate Prediction Center for April 15^th – 21^st 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 7th: 56.0ºF (avg. of 7 buoys)   

[Historic March Avg. SST: 55.1ºF]