Warm Up on the Way

SALINAS, Calif. (KION) – Weak low pressure aloft will stick around for the next few days. The marine layer will remain in place on the coast but clouds may occasionally clear as the air around the low mixes through the layers. The overall air mass aloft will remain warm, so inland areas will see seasonable to slightly warm highs, but coastal areas will continue to be seasonable to slightly cool.

Air Quality: Good       

Overnight: Chances of patchy drizzle and patchy fog in the Santa Cruz area. Mostly cloudy, with some calm winds.

Tuesday: Partial clearing over coastal cities by afternoon. Breezy onshore winds becoming windy up valleys late in the day. Slightly cool on the coast with highs in the low 60s to around 70ºF and slightly warm inland with highs ranging from the 70s nearest the coast to 90s to 100ºF in the farthest valleys.   
 
Wednesday : Low clouds along the coast, spilling into nearby valleys. Mostly clear inland. Temperatures mostly in the 50's. 
 
Thursday: Low clouds with patchy fog and drizzle early, then retreating to the coast by mid-morning and partial clearing over coastal cities by afternoon. Breezy onshore winds becoming windy up valleys late in the day. Slightly cool on the coast with highs in the low 60s to around 70ºF and slightly warm inland with highs ranging from the 70s nearest the coast to 90s in the farthest valleys.  

Friday: Expect low clouds and fog to fill in more along the coast and locally inland. A cloudy start to the day for some areas. By the afternoon, a few high clouds with pockets of low clouds along the immediate coast. Temperatures will be pleasant for early July: 60s to mid 70s coast and 70s to low 90s inland or seasonably cool. breezy to gusty onshore will be possible once again.
Windiest locations will be inland For evening activities: pockets of coastal low clouds will begin to expand along the coast. Coverage of low clouds overnight Friday will be similar to Thursday.
 
Extended: It will warm up soon across the Central Coast and inland areas. Starting this weekend and continuing into early next week, a ridge of high pressure will move in, reducing the marine layer and bringing more sunshine. Coastal areas will gradually warm into the 70s and possibly low 80s by midweek, while inland valleys could reach the mid-80s to low 90s. The warmest days are expected Tuesday and Wednesday before a possible cool-down later in the week.

Note: Some data in the below section may become outdated as our weather team transitions.   
This week's normal temperatures:      
--COASTAL CITIES--      
LOW: 53ºF      
HIGH: 69ºF      
--INLAND CITIES--      
LOW: 51ºF                  
HIGH: 84ºF             
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The outlook from the Climate Prediction Center for July 9^th – 15^th 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 30^th : 55.5ºF (avg. of  buoys) [Historic June Avg. SST: 56.7ºF]