Damp, Cool Wednesday
SALINAS, Calif. (KION) – The low pressure area, that brought rounds of showers to the Central Coast on Tuesday, has moved to the east and out of our area. With daytime heating, however, a few more showers may pop up over the inland mountains in the afternoon. Otherwise, expect gusty northwest winds and another day or two of cooler temperatures. High pressure will build in and bring warmer weather by the weekend.
Air Quality: Good
Wednesday: Partly cloudy with isolated showers possible over the inland mountains in the afternoon. Some lingering, light showers just after dark. Gusty northwesterly winds at times and cool temperatures with highs in the mid 50s to low 60s.
Overnight: Shower activity ends. Partly cloudy. Cool lows in the upper 30s to mid 40s. Patchy fog possible in the valleys around dawn. Winds breezy, with occasionally stronger gusts.
Thursday: Becoming mostly sunny. There is a slight chance of showers over the higher terrain in the afternoon. Otherwise, dry and warmer with highs in the 60s. Gusty northwesterly winds at times, slowly easing.
Extended: Temperatures really make a push upward by Friday as high pressure builds in. We’ll see highs at or above normal and then well-above normal for the weekend. A weak system will pass by Monday morning and models are trending a little wetter, so we’ll keep an eye on it, but after a bit of wind, an even stronger ridge and potentially warmer temps are possible.
*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.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
This week's normal temperatures:
--COASTAL CITIES--
LOW: 46ºF
HIGH: 64ºF
--INLAND CITIES--
LOW: 41ºF
HIGH: 69ºF
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
-The outlook from the Climate Prediction Center for April 9th – 15th calls for the likelihood of ABOVE normal temperatures and BELOW normal precipitation.
- ENSO (El Niño/La Niña) STATUS: La Niña Advisory
- ENSO Forecast: Neutral conditions expected by April and then to persist into summer
- Area drought status: Moderate drought for far southeastern Monterey County. Abnormally dry for southeastern Monterey County and eastern San Benito County. Drought-free for the remainder of the KION coverage area.
Monterey Bay Sea Surface Temperature as of March 31st: 54.8ºF (avg. of 7 buoys)
[Historic March Avg. SST: 55.3ºF]
