Swingin’ Cooler

SALINAS, Calif. (KION) –  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 around the bay and valleys. Patchy drizzle in the Santa Cruz Mountains. Patchy fog in the coastal hills. Lows will be in the upper 40s to low 50s near the coast. Mostly 40s inland.   

Wednesday: 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.   
 
Thursday: A few low clouds, but less cloudcover overall. Warmer, with coastal highs in the 60s to low 70s with 70s-80s inland. Breezy northwesterly onshore winds becoming windy up valleys late.  

Extended: Temperatures head upward across the board, peaking on Friday. 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 14^th  – 20^th 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 6^th : 56.4ºF (avg. of 7 buoys) [Historic May Avg. SST: 55.8ºF]