Cooler, Cloudier Tuesday

SALINAS, Calif. (KION) – Cooler, unsettled weather will be with us through mid-week. A cut-off low will slowly pass over the region Tuesday through Thursday bringing cooler temperatures and just enough moisture and instability to get a few showers going. Whether they’ll be right over your head is the big question for now! If everything lines up perfectly on Wednesday, there may also be a slight chance for a thunderstorm.  
 
Air Quality: Good

Tuesday: Cloudy to start for most areas with some breaks in the clouds this afternoon. Cool and breezy with highs mainly in the upper 50s to mid-60s around the bay with a few inland valleys reaching 70ºF. Continuous drizzle near the coast, likely.

Overnight: Mostly cloudy with a mix of high and low clouds. Temperatures a touch cooler in the mid 40s to low 50s. Light drizzle/ a sprinkle or two possible by morning, along with areas of patchy fog. Calm winds.
 
Wednesday: Partly cloudy with a chance of showers and perhaps a thunderstorm. Cool and breezy with highs in the upper 50s to mid-60s for most areas. Becoming windy up valleys late in the day.  

Extended: There will be an additional chance of showers on Thursday as the low passes over and out of the region. Temperatures will remain cool. By the holiday weekend, high pressure begins to nudge back in from the west. While flow will remain on shore, moderating coastal temperatures, most inland areas will warm up through Easter Sunday.    

*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: 46ºF  
HIGH: 64ºF  
--INLAND CITIES--  
LOW: 42ºF  
HIGH: 70ºF  

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-The outlook from the Climate Prediction Center for April 22^nd – 28^th calls for the likelihood of near 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: Abnormally dry for far 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 April 15th: 54.3ºF (avg. of 7 buoys) [Historic April Avg. SST: 55.1ºF]