Western Heat, Coastal Cool

Air Quality (as of 6:30PM)
GOOD for all reporting areas.  

WEATHER STORY
High pressure will strengthen over the West through tomorrow when inland temperatures will be at their highest. The overall air mass will have a bit more moisture in it over the next few days, so it may feel muggy. The ridge moves a bit east early next week which will allow a weak trough to arrive on the West Coast. This will enhance onshore flow and yield an overall cool-down into early next week.

Overnight: Mostly cloudy with patchy fog possible. Mostly clear inland outside of the major valleys. Expect lows in the 50s for most areas with warmer readings in the eastern valleys.

Sunday: Patchy low clouds on the coast, otherwise mostly sunny and hazy with a few high clouds drifting in from the east. Expect highs to range from the mid 60s to mid 70s on the coast but 70s all the way up to 108ºF inland, depending on proximity to the coast. Winds will pick up for inland valleys in the afternoon and evening.

Monday: Morning low clouds for the coast and inland valleys, then patchy low clouds on the coast, otherwise mostly sunny and hazy with a few high clouds drifting in from the east. Expect highs in the mid 60s to mid 70s on the coast, but slightly cooler inland with upper 70s to around 105ºF inland. Winds will pick up for inland valleys in the afternoon and evening.

 
Extended: Low clouds thicken on the coast Tuesday with patchy drizzle possible. Inland areas will cool significantly. We’ll bounce back a bit on the coast Wednesday with more seasonable temperatures for coastal cities but it will remain a little cool inland through Thursday.

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This week's normal temperatures:
--COASTAL CITIES--
LOW: 55ºF
HIGH: 70ºF
 
--INLAND CITIES--
LOW: 53ºF
HIGH: 86ºF

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-The outlook from the Climate Prediction Center for August 22^nd – 28^th  calls for the likelihood of ABOVE normal temperatures and near normal precipitation*. 
*Note: little to no precipitation usually falls this time of year.
 
-El Niño/La Niña STATUS: Neutral
-Forecast into Winter: La Niña Watch

-Area drought status: “Extreme Drought” for the entire viewing area with the far southeastern corner of Monterey County and far eastern San Benito County considered “Exceptional Drought”