High Pressure Brings the Heat

Air Quality (as of 10AM)
GOOD to MODERATE

WEATHER STORY
The ridge of high pressure that warmed us into the weekend will slowly meander to the east in the coming days. With that said, its influence will still be the main driver of our weather on the Central Coast. Inland areas especially will remain hot through most of the workweek. However, minor swings in the overall pattern would bring more dramatic temperatures swings to coastal cities as the marine layer deepens and compresses. Overall, cooler coastal highs can be expected past mid-week as we enter a deeper marine regime. All the while, some tropical moisture will stream in from the south in the high levels. The consequence of this flow should be nothing more than high clouds, however.

Tuesday: Patchy low clouds/fog for the coast and lower valleys in the morning. Then, expect mostly sunny skies with a few high clouds passing through and a few low clouds on the south half of the bay and outer coast. Expect highs in the upper 60s to upper 70s for coastal cities and mid 80s to low 100s inland. Winds pick up for inland valleys in the afternoon and evening.

Overnight: Another round of dense, albeit patchy fog will fill in around the immediate coast. Overnight low temps should sit in the 50s for most areas, but 40s are possible in the southern inland valleys as well as a few 60s -70s up in the hills.

Wednesday: Patchy AM fog, then sunny & warm with coastal highs in the upper 60s to low 80s with widespread 80s-100s inland. Winds pick up for inland valleys in the afternoon and evening.

Extended: It will be persistently toasty for inland areas through Friday, though some lower valleys near the coast will see bursts of cooler air at times. Generally, expect a few high clouds day to day and low clouds near the coast thickening late in the week.

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This week's normal temperatures:
--COASTAL CITIES--
LOW: 54ºF
HIGH: 72ºF
 
--INLAND CITIES--
LOW: 52ºF
HIGH: 86ºF

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-The outlook from the Climate Prediction Center for September 14^th – 20^th calls for the likelihood of near 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”