Cool End to the Week
Air Quality (as of 9:30 AM)
GOOD for all reporting stations
WEATHER STORY
We will remain sandwiched in between two areas of high pressure through mid-week. These features are dominating the weather across the East Pacific and the Western U.S. Here on the Central Coast, this has meant tranquil, seasonable weather for us. Weak low pressure will slowly strengthen on West Coast through the end of the week, eventually allowing a weather system to sneak in from the north this weekend. It will likely bring much-needed rain to the Pacific Northwest all the way down into Northern California. How far south it gets is a little more difficult to pinpoint at this moment. The actual cold front will likely be in the process of washing out as it reaches the San Francisco Bay Area. At the moment, I think we may just see an increased chance of drizzle Sunday morning, but a lot can change in the meantime. Beyond that system, offshore winds are possible on the coast which could lead to higher fire danger.
Thursday: Even cooler and cloudier on the coast with highs mainly in the 60s. Even inland areas will be cooler, though sunny in the afternoon with highs mainly in the 70s-80s. Winds pick up for inland valleys in the afternoon and evening.
Overnight: Hovering low clouds will fill back in throughout the immediate coast and may even reach the southernmost areas of the Salinas Valley overnight. Temps in most locations are expected to be in the mid to low 50s.
Friday: Temps stay cool with a deeper, more stable marine layer in place. Low clouds will hug the peninsula for most of the day while the Santa Cruz area and most inland locations will experience mostly clear skies. Low clouds won't fully fill in until the overnight hours headed into the weekend.
Extended: A weather system will then descend the West Coast into the weekend with a dissipating frontal boundary arriving locally into Sunday morning. Temperatures will warm a bit with southerly flow ahead of the system and then further with disruption of the marine layer. Some light precipitation possible—mainly drizzle Saturday night or perhaps in the preceding nights as the marine layer deepens, and then a slight chance of light rain mainly in the north on Sunday. Winds switch offshore early next week, bringing warmer, dryer air into the region.
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This week's normal temperatures:
--COASTAL CITIES--
LOW: 54ºF
HIGH: 72ºF
--INLAND CITIES--
LOW: 51ºF
HIGH: 85ºF
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-The outlook from the Climate Prediction Center for September 22nd – 28th 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”
