The Air Has a Bite
Cold air settles into the region for the first part of the week. Flow becomes more northwesterly Tuesday into Wednesday which will help develop a marine layer and will also keep temps cooler, especially on the coast. Rain chances increase into the weekend. More in the extended section below.
Air Quality: Good to Moderate
Tuesday: Clear early, then a few high clouds drift in from the northeast. Light drainage winds in the morning will switch onshore relatively early, pushing the marine layer back ashore. Breezy up-valley winds develop. Eventually, low clouds will appear in the layer on the coast—probably late in the day. Cooler on the coast with highs in the mid-50s to around 60ºF but warmer for most inland areas with highs in the low to mid 60s. Low clouds thicken late with patchy fog.
Overnight: Low clouds will thicken filling most of the bay and spilling into nearby valleys. Coastal and near coastal cities will be mostly cloudy with areas of patchy fog possible. While far interior locations, mountain ranges, and sheltered valleys will remain mostly clear and frosty. Lows range from the upper 30s to mid 40s around the coast, upper 20s to mid 30s inland.
***FREEZE WARNING***
… in effect from 1am to 9am Wednesday for interior Monterey County including the Santa Lucia Range, Southern Salinas Valley, Arroyo Seco, Lake San Antonio and Cholame Hills, most of San Benito County, and Diablo Range of Santa Clara County, and
*For the Freeze Warning, sub-freezing temperatures as low as 28 expected.
* WHERE...Interior Monterey County and the Santa Lucia Range, Most of San Benito County and the Cholame Hills in Southeast Monterey County, Eastern Santa Clara Hills, and Southern Salinas Valley/Arroyo Seco and Lake San Antonio.
*Conditions will be hazardous to sensitive populations such as unhoused individuals. Cold Conditions can lead to hypothermia with prolonged exposure. Frost and freeze conditions could kill crops, other sensitive vegetation and possibly damage unprotected outdoor plumbing.
Take steps now to protect tender plants from the cold. To prevent water pipes from freezing; wrap or drain or allow them to drip slowly.
FREEZE WATCH: For same locations stated above Freeze Warning, in effect late Wednesday night though Thursday morning. Sub-freezing temperatures as low as 30 possible.
**FROST ADVISORY**
… in effect from 1am to 9am Wednesday for Northern Salinas Valley, Hollister area, Carmel Valley, and Santa Clara Valley.
*For the Frost Advisory, temperatures as low as 34 will result in frost formation.
*Frost and freeze conditions could kill crops, other sensitive vegetation and possibly damage unprotected outdoor plumbing. 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. To prevent water pipes from freezing; wrap or drain or allow them to drip slowly.
FREEZE WATCH: For same locations stated above in Frost Advisory, in effect late Wednesday night though Thursday morning. Near-freezing temperatures as low as 32 possible.
FREEZE WATCH
… in effect from late Wednesday night through Thursday morning for the Monterey Bay and Big Sur Coastline, and the Santa Cruz Mountains.
*Near-freezing temperatures as low as 32 possible.
*Frost and freeze conditions could kill crops, other sensitive vegetation and possibly damage unprotected outdoor plumbing.
Take steps now to protect tender plants from the cold. To prevent water pipes from freezing; wrap or drain or allow them to drip slowly.
Wednesday: Low clouds for the coast and valleys early, then some low clouds lingering on the coast throughout the day. Cooler, with highs in the 50s on the coast and upper 50s to low 60s inland. Breezy up-valley winds late in the day.
Extended: Low clouds will stick around early Thursday with better afternoon clearing and slightly warmer temperatures. High pressure weekends and sinks southward allowing for the active storm track to get closer to us—perhaps grazing us at times with rainfall Friday into early next week. It all depends on how far south the storm track makes it—and that could make a difference between rain every day and no rain at all. We’ll likely have better resolution in the next day 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: 43ºF
HIGH: 61ºF
--INLAND CITIES--
LOW: 38ºF
HIGH: 62ºF
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-The outlook from the Climate Prediction Center for February 4th – 10th calls for the likelihood of BELOW normal temperatures and ABOVE 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 across the KION coverage area
- Monterey Bay Sea Surface Temperature as of January 28th : 53.0ºF (avg of 7 buoys) [January Average: 54.7ºF]
