Slightly Cooler Start to the Week

Air Quality (as of 7:30 AM)
GOOD for all reporting stations.

WEATHER STORY
A weak trough of low pressure will linger over the West Coast as we head into the early portion of the week. This will keep the marine layer fairly deep and high temperatures below normal. The flow will slowly flatten out and we’ll edge more toward ridging as we head through mid-week, so a slow warm-up can be expected for most areas. I do expect the cycle of low clouds to continue at the coast, however. A more westerly flow component will also encourage the smoke to stay to our east, so there’s that to be excited about!

Monday: Widespread low clouds break to partly cloudy on the coast during the afternoon and sunny but a touch hazy inland. Highs will remain below normal with 60s on the coast and 70s-80s inland. Winds will pick up for major valleys in the afternoon and evening.

Overnight: Quite similar to Sunday evening - widespread low clouds fill in around dinner. Patchy fog and light drizzle possible. Lows will be in the 50s for most areas, with a few upper 40s for a few inland spots.

Tuesday: Widespread low clouds break to partly cloudy on the coast during the afternoon and sunny but a touch hazy inland. Highs will remain below normal with 60s on the coast and 70s-80s inland. Winds will pick up for major valleys in the afternoon and evening.

Extended: High temperatures will slowly warm into the weekend, getting pretty close to seasonal norms. The cycle of low clouds on the coast and valley winds in the afternoon will continue.

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This week's normal temperatures:
--COASTAL CITIES--
LOW: 55ºF
HIGH: 72ºF
 
--INLAND CITIES--
LOW: 52ºF
HIGH: 86ºF

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-The outlook from the Climate Prediction Center for August 30^th –  September 5^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”