Another Storm Arrives Bringing Rain and Wind
Back to stormy conditions on Thursday! A fast moving low pressure system will ride along the jet stream and move into our area bringing wind and rain. The initial wave of rain came with a warm front Thursday morning. We’ll remain in mild southerly flow for the remainder of the day as moisture continues to stream in from the southwest, favoring coastal mountains. The cold front will arrive mid to late evening with a wind shift and a temporary end to the rain. Showers will then follow into Friday.
Air Quality: Good to Moderate
Thursday: Mostly cloudy with persistent rain in the coastal mountains and on and off rain elsewhere. Rain-shadowing will limit precipitation for inland valleys. Gusty southerly winds, especially on the exposed coast and in the mountains. Highs in the low 60s for most areas except 50s north of Monterey Bay. Winds peak in the early evening as the cold front comes through, then ease slightly and shift more to the west. Though the threat is low, there is a slight chance of an isolated thunderstorm late this afternoon into the evening, and enough wind shear for possible rotation to occurring in individual storms. We'll keep a close eye on this as the day progresses.
***GALE WARNING***
…for the near coastal waters Pigeon Point to Point Pinos out to 10 NM in effect until 9PM Thursday, and from Point Pinos to Point Piedras Blancas out to 10 NM in effect until 3AM Friday.
*South winds 20 to 30 kt with gusts up to 40 kt seas 8 to 10 ft expected.
... for the Monterey Bay in effect until 3AM Friday.
*South winds 15 to 25 kt with gusts up to 40 kt 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 hazardous conditions.
**WIND ADVISORY**
… in effect until 4AM Friday for the entire Central Coast, Monterey, Santa Cruz, San Benito and southern Santa Clara Counties.
*South winds 15 to 25 mph with gusts up to 45-50 mph expected.
*Gusty winds will blow around unsecured objects. Tree limbs could be blown down and a few power outages may result.
Winds this strong can make driving difficult, especially for high profile vehicles. Use extra caution.
Overnight: Rounds of showers and gusty winds will continue through late evening. Once the cold front passes, the air mass will dry out a bit which will limit widespread shower activity. However, lingering showers likely throughout the morning. Winds will shift out of the west/northwest, breezy, gusty at times. Temperatures will be in the 40s for most locations, valleys and far interior locations in the mid to upper 30s.
Friday: Mostly cloudy early with a few showers, then becoming partly cloudy with scattered showers in the early afternoon, tapering off late afternoon. Northwesterly winds will be occasionally gusty. Cooler, with highs in the 50s.
Extended: We’ll remain in cool northwest flow through the weekend and into next week. Limited cloudcover may help in allowing temperatures to drop at night with patchy frost possible on the coast Saturday through Tuesday and more widespread frosty conditions inland during that period. The next weather system will slide in from the northwest mid to late next week with wind & rain.
*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 13th – 19th 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: Moderate drought for the eastern valleys of San Benito County and far southeastern Monterey County, abnormally dry for the rest of the KION coverage area in Monterey, Santa Cruz, San Benito, and South Santa Clara Counties.
- Monterey Bay Sea Surface Temperature as of February 6th : 54.4ºF (avg of 5 buoys) [January Average: 54.9ºF]
