Another Tranquil Day – Some Changes on the Way

Finally a pattern change in sight! Although, you might not like it! We’ve been in a general offshore pattern for the past few days which has kept us persistently cold at night and warm during the days. Winds will flip back onshore by Friday, ushering in a brief period of cooler, cloudier weather.

Air Quality: Good to Moderate

**FROST ADVISORY**
… for the higher terrain and southern valleys of Monterey & San Benito Counties, Santa Clara Valley in effect from until 9AM Thursday.

*Temperatures as low as 34 will result in frost formation.

*Frost could harm sensitive outdoor vegetation. Sensitive outdoor plants may be killed if left uncovered. Cold conditions will be hazardous to sensitive populations such as unhoused individuals. Cold Conditions can lead to hypothermia with prolonged exposure.

Take steps now to protect tender plants from the cold.

Be sure to cover or tend to sensitive plants and vegetation as they may be damaged by frost.

This Morning: Clear skies and light drainage winds. Expect lows in the mid-30s to mid-40s for coastal areas with patchy frost possible and mid-20s to mid-30s with widespread frost.

Thursday: Mostly sunny with light offshore winds early, then light onshore winds in the afternoon. Becoming breezy up valleys late in the day. Slightly cooler with coastal highs in the low to mid-60s and low 60s to around 70ºF inland.

Friday: Low clouds move in and stick around on the coast for most of the day. Much cooler with coastal highs in the 50s and 50s to low 60s inland. Windy up valleys late in the day.

Extended: Onshore flow will keep temperatures cooler into the weekend, with most areas in the 50s to low 60s. Slow warming can be expected into next week as high pressure rebuilds over the West Coast. There is some wind potential early in the week, which we’ll keep an eye on. In the meantime, a return to wet weather still looks to hold off until after the 25^th 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

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This week's normal temperatures:
--COASTAL CITIES--
LOW: 42ºF
HIGH: 60ºF

--INLAND CITIES--
LOW: 37ºF
HIGH: 61ºF
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-The outlook from the Climate Prediction Center for January 23^rd – 29^th calls for the likelihood of ABOVE normal temperatures and BELOW normal precipitation.

- ENSO (El Niño/La Niña) STATUS: La Niña Advisory
- ENSO Forecast: La Niña persists into spring, then transitions to neutral by summer.
- Area drought status: Abnormally dry for San Benito County, northeastern Monterey County and eastern Santa Clara County. Drought-free elsewhere
- Monterey Bay Sea Surface Temperature as of January 16^th : 53.0ºF (avg of 7 buoys) [January Average: 54.7ºF]