A Warm Start to the Week

Air Quality (as of 7 AM)
GOOD for most areas, MODERATE in Pinnacles NP and some parts of the Santa Cruz mountains 

WEATHER STORY
High pressure will begin to weaken on Monday, inland temperatures still remaining hot. The overall air mass will have a bit more moisture in it, so it may feel muggy. The ridge moves a bit east which will allow a weak trough to arrive from the north. This will enhance onshore flow and yield an overall cool-down starting on Tuesday.


Monday: Morning low clouds for the coast and inland valleys, then patchy low clouds on the coast, otherwise mostly sunny and hazy with a few high clouds drifting in from the east. Expect highs in the mid 60s to mid 70s on the coast. Slightly cooler inland with upper 70s to around 105ºF. Winds will pick up for inland valleys in the afternoon and evening. Gusty at times along the coast.

Overnight: Expect lows in the 50s for most areas with warmer readings in the eastern valleys.

Tuesday: The marine layer will strengthen. Morning low clouds won't break much for coastal locations. Expect mostly cloudy skies even into the low-lying valleys. Inland locations will see a bit more sunshine in between a few broken clouds. Temperatures overall will drop, especially for inland locations, which could see a 5-10 degree difference from Monday.
 
Extended: We’ll bounce back a bit on the coast Wednesday with more seasonable temperatures for coastal cities but it will remain a little cool inland through Thursday.

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This week's normal temperatures:
--COASTAL CITIES--
LOW: 55ºF
HIGH: 70ºF
 
--INLAND CITIES--
LOW: 53ºF
HIGH: 86ºF

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-The outlook from the Climate Prediction Center for August 23^rd – 29^th  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 and far eastern San Benito County considered “Exceptional Drought”Video / Weather Authority