Late Spring Rains Monday
A late spring storm system will arrive in the region on Monday. As is typical with weather systems this time of year, only periods of light rain are expected with showers lingering into Tuesday. Rainfall amounts will be highest the farther north, the closer to the coast, and the higher in elevation you go. Places in the Santa Cruz Mountains may approach a half inch while interior southern valleys may not see much of anything. Rain will likely hold off until the late afternoon/early evening in Santa Cruz County, then proceed east/south through the evening and overnight. Temperatures will initially be cool this week, then slowly warm up. Another weather system will be in the area next weekend and is worth watching.
Overnight: Low clouds and fog thicken around the coast, spreading into nearby valleys. Expect lows in the low 50s on the coast and 40s to low 50s inland.
Monday: Partly cloudy with increasing southwesterly winds. Winds will be gusty at times on the exposed coast. Light rain begins in the Santa Cruz Mountains in the late afternoon/early evening, then slowly spread east/south through the evening and overnight. Expect coastal highs in the 60s to around 70ºF with upper 60s to mid-70s inland.
Tuesday: Mostly cloudy early with a few sprinkles. Then, becoming partly cloudy with an isolated rain shower possible. Cool with highs in the upper 50s to 60s. A few inland spots in the south may top out in the low 70s.
Extended: Temperatures will ever so slowly warm throughout the week under mostly sunny skies. Clouds will be on the increase next weekend as the next storm system approaches. Light rain will be possible from this system on Sunday. Timing and intensity remain difficult to pin down at the moment.
The outlook from the Climate Prediction Center for May 18th-24th calls for the likelihood of BELOW normal temperatures and ABOVE normal precipitation.
El Niño/La Niña STATUS: Neutral
Forecast into Summer: Neutral
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This week's normal temperatures:
--COASTAL CITIES--
LOW: 48ºF
HIGH: 65ºF
--INLAND CITIES--
LOW: 44ºF
HIGH: 75ºF
