A Smoky, Cooler, Cloudier Wednesday
Drifting smoke from fires in Northern California and Oregon will remain in our area, Wednesday afternoon. The smoke is trapped in the low levels which precludes our usual air freshener from the ocean. The smoke may stay with us for the next day or two. The other big story is the change in scenery for coastal areas—after a couple of days of sunshine, deeper onshore flow will mean more persistent low clouds and cooler temperatures for the next couple of days. Inland areas will be especially cool as a cold upper-level low passes by—inland highs may be as much as 15ºF below normal! Both coastal and inland areas will then see temperatures rise into and through the weekend with above-normal highs possible next week under mostly sunny to partly cloudy skies.
AIR QUALITY: Unhealthy and Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups for most cities on/near the coast, Moderate to Unhealthy for inland & mountain areas. AQI has improved slightly from overnight conditions.
Wednesday: Staying mostly cloudy on the coast with a few breaks. Cooler, with coastal highs in the 60s to around 70ºF. Cooler and mostly sunny inland with highs ranging from the low 70s to low 80s. Breezy westerly onshore winds becoming windy for inland valleys late in the day. Smoky at times.
Overnight: Low clouds will fill back into the valleys, becoming widespread. Most areas will wake up to gray skies, with a chance of drizzle closer to the coast. Lows will mainly be in the 50s, with a few 40s in sheltered valleys. Hazy conditions will continue overnight.
Thursday: A drizzly start on the coast, then becoming partly cloudy in the afternoon. Slightly warmer on the coast with highs in the low 60s to low 70s, but even cooler inland with highs in the 60-70s. Breezy west-southwesterly onshore winds becoming windy for inland valleys late in the day.
Extended: Clouds disperse to some extent heading into the weekend, though we may see occasional high clouds. Temperatures warm slowly into and through the weekend with only one quick speedbump on the coast Saturday.
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This week's normal temperatures:
--COASTAL CITIES--
LOW: 53ºF
HIGH: 70ºF
--INLAND CITIES--
LOW: 50ºF
HIGH: 84ºF
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-The outlook from the Climate Prediction Center for September 27th – October 3rd calls for the likelihood of BELOW normal temperatures and ABOVE normal precipitation. Note: Little to no precipitation typically falls this time of year.
- ENSO (El Niño/La Niña) STATUS: El Niño Advisory
- Forecast: Strong to Very Strong El Niño expected this winter.
-Area drought status: Currently drought-free
