Watching For Weekend Rain

One more warm afternoon before we cool down into the weekend. The dominating ridge of high pressure over the region will sink southward, passing over us on Thursday and ending up to our south by Friday. Onshore flow will kick back in, cooling coastal areas especially. A back door weather system will sneak in for the weekend bringing even cooler weather, breezy conditions, and a chance for rain.

Air Quality: Good to Moderate

**FROST ADVISORY**
…for the southern valleys and interior mountains of Monterey County and southern valleys and higher terrain of San Benito County in effect from 11PM Wednesday until 9AM Thursday

*Temperatures as low as 35 will result in frost formation.

*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.

Be sure to cover or tend to sensitive plants and vegetation as they may be damaged by frost.

Overnight: Clear and cold. Lows in the mid-30s to mid-40s on the coast and mid-20s to mid-30s inland. Light drainage winds.

Thursday: Sunny throughout the day. Slightly warmer for most areas with coastal highs in the mid-60s to low 70s and upper 60s to mid-70s inland. Offshore breezes in the morning with a light sea breeze in the afternoon.

Friday: Mostly clear early with a slight increase in clouds in the afternoon. Some low cloudcover possible near the coast with a more direct sea breeze. Cooler, with coastal highs in the 60s and 60s to low 70s inland.

Extended: A cold upper level low will sneak into the region from the northeast into the weekend. Temperatures will drop into the 50s for both days and the low will draw in enough moisture to make a few showers around the area. Showers will be most likely inland and in the south, but a few may make it to the coast. Snow levels will drop to around 3,000ft and there may be a slight chance for a thunderstorm. The low kicks out into the work week leaving us with cold mornings and seasonable afternoons through mid-week.

*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: 43ºF
HIGH: 61ºF

--INLAND CITIES--
LOW: 38ºF
HIGH: 62ºF
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-The outlook from the Climate Prediction Center for January 30^th –  February 5^th calls for the likelihood of near normal temperatures and near 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: Abnormally dry for San Benito County, northeastern Monterey County and eastern Santa Clara County. Drought-free elsewhere
- Monterey Bay Sea Surface Temperature as of January 23^rd : 53.0ºF (avg of 7 buoys) [January Average: 54.7ºF]