Light Morning Rain, Gusty Afternoon
The last round of rain we'll see for a while is slowly moving out of the area. The passing cold front left behind some clouds, isolated showers/ drizzle, and gusty winds out of the northwest. By the afternoon, clouds will begin to clear into the evening. Winds however will remain gusty over the next couple of days. This is all in response to a tightening pressure gradient as a ridge of high pressure builds in from the west, while a trough of low pressure remains to our east. For the Central Coast, the ridge will continue to win warming temperatures, with the help of an offshore flow, through the weekend.
AIR QUALITY: Good
Tuesday: Showers/ drizzle taper off around lunchtime, with partly cloudy skies by mid-afternoon. Northwesterly winds pick up and get gusty at times later in the day. Highs in the upper 50s to low 60s on the coast and low to mid 60s inland.
***GALE WARNING***
…in effect now, extended until 9PM Wednesday for the near coastal waters from Point Pinos to Point Piedras Blancas.
*Northwest winds 20 to 30 kt with gusts up to 40 kt and seas 10 to 14 ft expected.
*Strong winds will cause hazardous seas which could capsize or damage vessels and reduce visibility.
Mariners should alter plans to avoid these hazardous conditions. Remain in port, seek safe harbor, alter course, and/or secure the vessel for severe conditions.
Overnight: Partly cloudy to mostly clear skies overnight. Few low clouds will hover the hills. Lows will be cooler dropping into the 30s and 40s inland, mainly 40s near the coast. Northwest winds will be breezy, gusty at times. Sheltered valleys could see some patchy fog and possibly patchy frost by dawn.
Wednesday: Mostly sunny everywhere with just a few high clouds passing through. Gusty northerly winds at times, especially inland and on the exposed coast. Slightly warmer with highs mainly in the 60s.
Extended: Winds will shift more to the northeast on Thursday before tapering off with full sunshine Thu/Fri. Temperatures jump up above normal into and through the weekend, though the sea breeze may moderate the coast and introduce a few low clouds back into the equation. The long term forecast is still looking pretty dry, especially for the next week or so.
*Note: Any alerts from the National Weather Service in Monterey will be noted in italics above. Alerts may be edited for brevity or local clarification (in parenthesis).
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This week's normal temperatures:
--COASTAL CITIES--
LOW: 45ºF
HIGH: 63ºF
--INLAND CITIES--
LOW: 41ºF
HIGH: 67ºF
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-The outlook from the Climate Prediction Center for March 19th – 25th calls for the likelihood of ABOVE normal temperatures and ABOVE normal precipitation.
- ENSO (El Niño/La Niña) STATUS: El Niño Advisory, La Niña Watch
- ENSO Forecast: Transition from El Niño to neutral by Spring and then to La Niña by summer.
-Area drought status: Currently drought-free
