Marine Layer Stability

SALINAS, Calif. (KION) - Coastal clouds may stick around for the next few days as we remain in a somewhat stable weather pattern. A strong, hot ridge to our north is being balanced out with a cut-off low just to our west. Their combined forces will help keep the marine layer stable and prevent clouds from mixing out on Sunday. Still, we will likely see partial clearing on the north side of the bay. The ridge will begin to win out on Monday/Tuesday, heating up inland areas, though its downward motion may keep the stability of the marine layer in place. Cloud coverage may decrease overall, but will likely still hold on right along the coast.  

Air Quality: Good 
 
Overnight: Widespread low clouds for the coast and major valleys. Patchy fog in the hills. Can’t rule out a spritz of drizzle. Low in the 50s for overcast areas, a few 40s for clear inland valleys. 
 
Sunday: Becoming partly cloudy on the coast and sunny inland. Coastal highs remain cool—mainly in the 60s—with a range from low 70s to upper 90s inland. Wind up valleys late in the day. Low clouds increase late.  
 
Monday: Overcast for the coast and nearby valleys early, then clouds retreating to the coast with patchy fog. A touch warmer on the coast with highs in the 60s to around 70ºF and warmer inland with highs ranging from the mid-70s to around 105ºF. Windy up valleys late in the day.  
 
Extended: The ridge begins to weaken on Tuesday, but temperatures should be pretty close to Monday for most areas. Then, as it flattens out, we’ll get into more of a progressive pattern. Inland areas will cool back down closer to normal, but deeper mixing in the marine layer will allow for more sunshine and perhaps slightly warmer temperatures. Winds will pick up too, especially from Wednesday on.  
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This week's normal temperatures:       
--COASTAL CITIES--      
LOW: 51ºF          
HIGH: 67ºF           
--INLAND CITIES--           
LOW: 48ºF           
HIGH: 78ºF          
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The outlook from the Climate Prediction Center for June 15^th – 21^st calls for the likelihood of near normal temperatures and BELOW 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 portions of southern San Benito and southeastern Monterey Counties. Drought-free for the remainder of the KION coverage area.     
-Monterey Bay Sea Surface Temperature as of June 5^th : 57.6ºF (avg. of 7 buoys) [Historic June Avg. SST: 56.7ºF]