Wet Morning, Windy Afternoon

AIR QUALITY:
GOOD for all reporting stations.

WEATHER STORY
The weather pattern will remain active with several rain chances in the forecast. The first arrived overnight last night, bringing light to moderate precipitation to much of the area before quickly tapering off. A cooler, drier air mass will move in for the next few days with chilly mornings Friday and Saturday. A stronger system will then arrive out of the weekend bringing moderate to heavy rain along with gusty winds.

Thursday: Following some refreshing morning showers, high clouds will give way to clear skies by early afternoon. Breezes will pick up across the area, keeping things feel a bit brisk with highs in the 50s across the board.

Overnight: Things get chilly! The vast majority of overnight lows will drop down into the 30s, with frost likely for inland areas. Fog may develop along the coast and in valleys.

Friday: Chilly in the morning with patchy fog. Frost likely for inland valleys with patchy frost approaching the coast. Then, mostly sunny and a touch warmer. Highs will remain in the 50s for most areas, however. Breezy over the hills at times.

Extended: Saturday morning with be even colder with lows in the 20s-30s inland and 30s to low 40s on the coast. Clouds will begin to increase in advance of a weather system that won’t really be here until later in the day on Sunday. This is a stronger system and will be packed with wind & rain. Rain is possible starting Sunday night and then likely on Monday and could be heavy at times in the coastal mountains. A secondary system will keep the rain machine going into Tuesday where lowering snow levels and the chance for thunderstorms will make things even more interesting. Keep an eye on our forecast for more details as the event approaches.

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This week's normal temperatures:
--COASTAL CITIES--
LOW: 43ºF
HIGH: 61ºF

--INLAND CITIES--
LOW: 38ºF
HIGH: 62ºF

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-The outlook from the Climate Prediction Center for December 16^th – 22^nd calls for the likelihood of BELOW normal temperatures and ABOVE normal precipitation.
- El Niño/La Niña STATUS: La Niña Advisory
- Forecast into Winter: Weak La Niña

-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”