Tracking Coastal Clouds

SALINAS, Calif. (KION) - We’re stuck! Stuck in a quiet pattern that just so happens to support a moderately deep and stable marine layer. While temperatures aloft are warm and toasty and some of our inland areas can feel the heat, most of us at the coast and in the lower elevation valleys are feeling the air-conditioned ocean air. That isn’t going to change much in the coming days—but it will a little. The trend now is for a very slow rise in coastal temperatures and reduction in coastal clouds into the weekend. It will be subtle and there may be a speed bump or two, but that is the trend. In the short term, a weak frontal boundary arrives early Wednesday and that may add some slightly dryer air into the marine layer which will help in cloud reduction. In addition, northwesterly winds will strengthen past mid-week as well.  
 
Air Quality: Good   

Overnight: Low clouds for the coast and eventually inland valleys. Patchy fog, mainly in the coastal hills and some drizzle can’t be ruled out. Expect lows in the low 50s for most areas with a few valleys dipping into the upper 40s.  
 
Tuesday: Low clouds clear back to the coast but linger on the south & east sides of the bay once again during the afternoon. Also, a few high clouds drifting through. Breezy onshore winds becoming windy up valleys late. Highs in the low 60s to mid-70s for the coast—warmest on the north side of the bay—and mid-70s to around 100ºF inland.  
 
Wednesday: Overcast for the coast and inland valleys in the morning with patchy fog & drizzle. Then, low clouds clear back to the coast but again linger on the south/east sides of the bay—though perhaps with a bit less coverage. Expect coastal highs in the low 60s to mid-70s—warmest on the north side of the bay—and mid-70s to upper 90s inland. Breezy onshore winds becoming windy up valleys late. 

Extended: Northwest low level flow will help dry out the marine layer a bit and while the upper level pattern will be somewhat boring with weak troughing off to the northwest and high pressure to the south and east, we’re likely to see slightly more coastal sunshine day to day into the weekend. Coastal high temps will slowly rise because of this, perhaps peaking on Sunday. Inland areas will likely remain at or slightly above normal during the period as well.  
 
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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 17^th – 23^rd calls for the likelihood of ABOVE normal temperatures and near normal precipitation, though little to no precipitation usually falls this time of year.      

- 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 9^th : N/A (avg. of 7 buoys) [Historic June Avg. SST: 56.7ºF]