Seasonable, Mild Tuesday

More dry weather expected in the short term as a ridge rebuilds on the West Coast. Seasonable temperatures early in the week will warm to 5ºF above normal by Wednesday and may approach +10ºF by Friday/Saturday. Expect plenty of sunshine with colorful sunrises and sunset in the meantime, although we’ll be watching for localized morning fog, especially early on. A broad area of low pressure will approach this weekend with rain looking more and more likely Sunday/Monday, though intensity and duration is still yet to be determined. If all holds true, it may usher in the beginning of a more active weather pattern, so stay tuned to the forecast!  

AIR QUALITY: GOOD to MODERATE

Tuesday: Partly cloudy on the coast with a mix of high and low clouds and mostly sunny inland with just high clouds. Expect highs in the low to mid 60s. Breezy northwesterly onshore winds late in the day.

Overnight: Any lingering low clouds at the coast will fade, giving way to mostly clear skies. Lows will be a touch cooler, with 30s inland, and upper 30s to low 40s near the coast. Valleys in the upper 20s. Patchy frost possible for valleys.

Wednesday: Patchy am fog possible, initially on the coast and then perhaps into some valley bottoms. Then, becoming mostly sunny with a few high clouds passing through. Warmer, with coastal highs in the 60s and 60s to around 70ºF inland.

Extended: Mostly sunny, warm, and dry conditions continue through Saturday (although morning lows will be seasonable. Rain is looking more and more likely Sunday/Monday and we’ll likely see some gusty southerly winds as well. Stay tuned.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------
This week's normal temperatures:
--COASTAL CITIES--
LOW: 42ºF
HIGH: 60ºF

--INLAND CITIES--
LOW: 36ºF
HIGH: 60ºF
--------------------------------------------------------------------------

-The outlook from the Climate Prediction Center for December 19^th – 25^th  calls for the likelihood of ABOVE normal temperatures and ABOVE normal precipitation.

- ENSO (El Niño/La Niña) STATUS: El Niño Advisory
- ENSO Forecast: Strong to Very Strong El Niño expected this winter.
-Area drought status: Currently drought-free