Cooling Slightly, Windy in the Hills
Air Quality (as of 7:00PM):
Good for all reporting stations.
Weather Story: High pressure to our west will continue to direct offshore winds across our area. The air mass will continue to cool in the coming days until high temperatures return close to normal for this time of year. All the while, conditions will remain breezy—and even in the hills at times. The ridge will rebuild east into the weekend with a slight warm-up, then ease back to the west allowing for a more active weather pattern to develop next week. There is quite a bit of uncertainty as to how this will all play out beginning Monday. There is a slight chance a weather system make sneak in from the north Monday, but if it does, don’t expect anything more than a few light showers. The seemingly more likely scenario would have a slightly stronger system arrive later in the week. Stay tuned for updates on this changing forecast.
**Wind Advisory**
… for the Diablo Range in Santa Clara County and the Santa Cruz Mountains until 4AM Thursday.
Strong and gusty northeast winds are expected to increase on Wednesday into Wednesday evening. Strongest gusts forecast to be at highest peaks and ridges of the North Bay Mountains and the East Bay Hills with strong wind gusts aloft extending as far south as the Santa Cruz Mountains. Winds have the potential to locally mix down to the valley surface, particularly in the West Delta and the East Bay Valleys. Winds are expected to diminish late Wednesday night, though remaining gusty at higher elevations into early Thursday morning.
- North winds 15 to 30 mph with gusts 40 to 50 mph, locally up to 60 mph at highest peaks of the Diablos. Downsloping effects will produce gusty conditions on the lee side of mountains and foothills.
Strong wind gusts have the potential to knock down power lines and trees along with creating hazardous driving conditions. Be sure to plan accordingly if you travel in these areas and to secure light property outdoors including temporary outdoor structures. Have cell phones charged and flashlights handy if power outages occur.
Use extra caution when driving, especially if operating a high profile vehicle. Secure outdoor objects.
Overnight: Clear and chilly with coastal lows in the mid 30s to low 40s and upper 20s to 30s inland where patchy frost is possible. Gusty winds continue over the ridgetops but most low areas will be fairly calm.
Thursday: Mostly sunny with a few high clouds passing through. Cooler and breezy at times with highs in the upper 50s to mid 60s on the coast and mainly 60s for inland valleys.
Friday: Chilly in the morning, then mostly sunny and seasonable with highs in the upper 50s to 60s. Breezy at times.
Extended: Temperatures warm slightly this weekend, but it will be windy at times, especially in the hills. The weather pattern becomes a little more unsettled but also uncertain next week with rain chances at some point. See the weather story above.
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This week's normal temperatures:
--COASTAL CITIES--
LOW: 45ºF
HIGH: 62ºF
--INLAND CITIES--
LOW: 40ºF
HIGH: 65ºF
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-The outlook from the Climate Prediction Center for March 4th – 10th calls for the likelihood of BELOW normal temperatures and near normal precipitation.
-El Niño/La Niña STATUS: Weak La Niña
-Forecast into Summer: Neutral
-Area drought status: Abnormally dry for most of the viewing area, moderate drought for most of Santa Clara County outside of the Santa Cruz Mountains and the northeastern sections of San Benito County.
