Watching The Next Batch Of Monsoon Moisture
Air Quality (as of 7AM)
GOOD for all reporting stations
WEATHER STORY
It’s back to normal across the region for the next few days. We will experience the familiar low coastal clouds, afternoon valley winds, and fairly seasonable to slightly cool temperatures through the rest of the week. Another pulse of monsoon moisture is possible out of the weekend however. At the very least, we’ll see some high cloudcover. At the most, we’ll have to watch again for lightning chances.
Thursday: Overcast for the coast and nearby valleys in the morning with patchy fog & drizzle, then coastal low clouds scatter to partly cloudy in the afternoon, concentrating on the south side of the bay. Sunny elsewhere. Expect coastal highs in the 60s to low 70s—warmest on the Santa Cruz side of the bay—and 70s to around 100ºF inland. Winds will pick up for the major valleys in the afternoon and early evening.
Overnight: Low clouds fill back in around the bay with fog and drizzle possible. Expect lows in the 50s for most areas.
Friday: Overcast for the coast and nearby valleys in the morning with patchy fog & drizzle, then coastal low clouds scatter to partly cloudy in the afternoon, concentrating on the south side of the bay. Sunny elsewhere. Expect coastal highs in the 60s to low 70s—warmest on the Santa Cruz side of the bay—and 70s to around 100ºF inland. Winds will pick up for the major valleys in the afternoon and early evening.
Extended: More of the same into Saturday, but monsoon moisture begins to stream in up high into Sunday, lingering through Monday and perhaps Tuesday. At the moment, it looks like we’ll just see some high cloudcover, but potential thunderstorm activity will have to be monitored. In the meantime, expect fairly seasonable temperatures.
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This week's normal temperatures:
--COASTAL CITIES--
LOW: 55ºF
HIGH: 69ºF
--INLAND CITIES--
LOW: 53ºF
HIGH: 86ºF
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-The outlook from the Climate Prediction Center for July 29th – August 4th calls for the likelihood of ABOVE normal temperatures and near normal precipitation*.
*Note: little to no precipitation usually falls this time of year.
-El Niño/La Niña STATUS: Neutral
-Forecast into Winter: La Niña Watch
-Area drought status: “Extreme Drought” for the entire viewing area with the far southeastern corner of Monterey County considered “Exceptional Drought”
