Cloudy, but a Mild Thursday
Tranquil weather (for the most part) is expected into Christmas Weekend. A strong ridge of high pressure to our southwest continues to deflect storm systems off to our north. Some cloudcover is spilling over the ridge, but that’s about it so far. With that said, the tail end of one of these deflected systems will gently brush across our area late Thursday into Friday and pay produce some sprinkles—at most a stray light shower or two. After that, however, warm and mostly sunny weather is expected through the weekend into Monday. Just when you thought no creatures were stirring, a storm system will arrive on Tuesday likely bringing moderate rain and wind to the region. If you’re traveling next week, definitely stay tuned to the forecast!
AIR QUALITY: Good to Moderate
Overnight: Mostly cloudy and with a few sprinkles to a brief, light shower possible. Lows will continue to be warmer, mainly 40s across the Central Coast, few 30s for interior valley locations, and low 50s for along the coast. Patchy fog is possible in valley bottoms.
Friday: A few sprinkles possible in the morning, mainly on the coast and in the north. Then, decreasing clouds and warmer with highs in the upper 50s to mid-60s.
Saturday (Christmas Eve): Low clouds for coastal and valley locations to start the day, patchy fog possible. Clearing to mostly sunny skies. Highs at and slightly above seasonable, low to mid-60s for most locations.
Extended: Expect seasonably warm conditions Saturday through Monday under mostly sunny skies. Sunday will likely be the warmest day. Rain & wind return Tuesday.
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This week's normal temperatures:
--COASTAL CITIES--
LOW: 43ºF
HIGH: 61ºF
--INLAND CITIES--
LOW: 37ºF
HIGH: 62ºF
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-The outlook from the Climate Prediction Center for December 29th – January 4th calls for the likelihood of ABOVE normal temperatures and ABOVE normal precipitation.
- El Niño/La Niña STATUS: La Niña Advisory
- Forecast: Weak La Niña continues through winter, becomes neutral by Spring
-Area drought status: “Severe Drought” for most of the viewing area with “Extreme Drought” in southern San Benito and southeastern Monterey Counties. The southeastern third of San Benito County has been upgraded to “Exceptional Drought”
