Showers and Storms Thursday
Rounds of showers and perhaps an embedded thunderstorm will roll through the Monterey Bay area through early afternoon Thursday, as a cold area of low pressure passes by. While thunderstorm activity is not expected to be widespread, a few bolts will be possible. Additionally, snow levels may be as low as 3,000ft, so don’t be surprised to see a new coating of white paint on area mountains! Showers will taper off by mid-afternoon as instability wanes, then high pressure slowly builds in with warmer, drier weather expected heading into the weekend.
Air Quality: Good
Thursday: Rounds of showers with embedded thunderstorms possible through lunchtime. Then, partly cloudy with showers becoming more isolated in the afternoon. Snow/ rain mix possible above 3,000ft. Cool with gusty northwesterly winds. Highs in the 50s. Partial clearing late.
Overnight: Partly cloudy, with some isolated showers possible in southern Monterey and San Benito counties before midnight. Areas of fog, and patchy frost by by dawn. West, northwest winds will ease, becoming calm. Cool temperatures in the low to mid 40s near the coast, 30s to low 40s inland.
**FROST ADVISORY**
… for Interior Monterey County including southern Salinas Valley, San Antonio Valley, Arroyo Seco, the Santa Lucia Range, and Cholame Hills, most of San Benito County, and eastern Santa Clara Hills.
*In effect from 1am – 9am Friday.
*Temperatures as low as 32 will result in frost formation. Temperatures in the higher elevations may drop down to as low as 28.
*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.
Friday: Low clouds and fog for the coast and valleys in the morning, then becoming mostly sunny with just a few cumulus clouds over the hills. There is a slight chance for a shower to develop over the far southern mountains. Breezy northwesterly winds, perhaps windy at times for inland valleys. Highs in the 50s to low 60s.
Extended: High pressure builds in for the weekend, with temperatures heading back up close to normal—though nights will be chilly. Southerly winds pickup on Sunday as a weather system approaches from the west. Initially, it was looking to make a direct impact on the Monterey Bay Area, but some model solutions are now pushing it south or keeping it offshore. As of now, we’re keeping a good chance of rain in the forecast for Monday with showers lingering into Tuesday. A potentially stronger system will likely be in our vicinity on Wednesday and is definitely worth watching!
*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: 45ºF
HIGH: 62ºF
--INLAND CITIES--
LOW: 40ºF
HIGH: 65ºF
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-The outlook from the Climate Prediction Center for March 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 eastern San Benito County and far southeastern Monterey County. Abnormally dry for the remainder of the viewing area.
Monterey Bay Sea Surface Temperature as of March 6th: 53.0ºF (avg of 7 buoys)
[Historic March Avg. SST: 55.3ºF]
