Damp Weather Kicks Off the Work Week

Rain returns to the region on Monday, but this time, the weather system will be pretty weak. Light to briefly moderate rain will arrive around the bay from late morning into the early afternoon and be accompanied by breezy conditions at best. Rain ends by the evening for all areas with warmer weather to follow through mid-week.

AIR QUALITY: Good

Monday: A weak cold front will bring light rain to the area from late morning into the early afternoon. Most areas should be dry by 4PM, though some southern inland areas will continue to see some light rain. Expect coastal highs in the mid to upper 50s with mid-50s to mid-60s inland. Breezy southerly winds on the exposed coast before and along frontal passage.

Overnight: Partial clearing with patchy fog possible into the morning. Lows will be a touch warmer, with many locations in the low to mid 40s. Valleys cooler, in the 30s.

Tuesday: Patchy AM fog. Then, partly cloudy on the coast with highs in the 60s and mostly sunny inland with highs in the 60s to around 70ºF. Breezy up-valley winds late in the day.

Extended: Calmer, warmer weather moves in, with light offshore flow for the remainder of the week. Highs should be 5-10ºF through the duration. The next weather system arrives on Saturday with rain and wind. Details are a bit obscure at the moment.  

*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

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This week's normal temperatures:
--COASTAL CITIES--
LOW: 42ºF
HIGH: 59ºF

--INLAND CITIES--
LOW: 37ºF
HIGH: 60ºF
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-The outlook from the Climate Prediction Center for December 23^rd – 29^th calls for the likelihood of ABOVE normal temperatures and ABOVE normal precipitation.

- ENSO (El Niño/La Niña) STATUS: La Niña Watch
- ENSO Forecast: Transition to La Niña into the fall and persist through the winter months.
- Area drought status: Abnormally dry for areas around Monterey Bay northward. Drought-free elsewhere
- Monterey Bay Sea Surface Temperature as of December 16^th : 55.1ºF (avg of 7 buoys) [December Average: 55.0ºF]