Temperature Swings
SALINAS, Calif. (KION) – After a very warm Monday, temperatures fall back down on Tuesday! An area of low pressure will retrograde out of the Northern Rockies into the Great Basin. It will cool temperatures aloft into California and over us by about 5ºF. In addition, it will allow for a deeper marine layer and stronger southerly onshore flow. The biggest cool-down will be felt on the north side of the bay where some areas may drop 10-20ºF from Monday’s highs due to deeper onshore flow and low clouds. The ridge will build back in on Wednesday and while inland areas will begin to warm back up, the stabilization of the marine layer—even as it is compressing a bit—may lead to a cloudier afternoon around the bay and thus cooler temperatures. All areas will then warm up on Thursday—quite a bit, in fact!
Air Quality: Good to Moderate
Overnight: Low clouds fill in slowly around the bay, starting on the north and east sides and perhaps pushing up valleys to some extent. Patchy fog. Lows in the 40s to low 50s on the coast and mainly 40s inland.
Tuesday: Southerly flow strengthens and will keep winds onshore, especially into Santa Cruz County. Cooler with coastal highs in the 60s to low 70s—warmest on the south side of the bay—and upper 60s to around 80ºF inland. Windy up valleys late in the day.
Wednesday: Widespread low clouds early with patchy drizzle possible. Then, remaining mostly cloudy on the coast with highs in the upper 50s to mid-60s. Warmer and sunnier inland with highs in the upper 60s to mid-80s. Breezy westerly onshore winds becoming windy up valleys late in the day.
Extended: Temperatures head upward across the board Thursday and then again on Friday when most areas will peak. Coastal areas will tip into the 70s-80s with 80s-90s inland! Some cooling late Saturday as onshore winds pick up. A trough of low pressure approaches on Sunday which will bring temperatures closer to normal and provide rain chances by Monday and Tuesday.
*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: 48ºF
HIGH: 65ºF
--INLAND CITIES--
LOW: 45ºF
HIGH: 74ºF
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-The outlook from the Climate Prediction Center for May 13th – 19th calls for the likelihood of BELOW normal temperatures and near normal precipitation.
- ENSO (El Niño/La Niña) STATUS: Neutral
- ENSO Forecast: Neutral conditions persist through summer & possibly into next winter.
-Area drought status: Abnormally dry for far 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 May 5th : 55.1ºF (avg. of 7 buoys) [Historic May Avg. SST: 55.8ºF]
