Drying Out For The Weekend
Dry weather returns for the next few days and while the mornings will be cold, the afternoons will be warmer! Highs return to above normal levels by Saturday as high pressure moves over the region. It will keep moving east, however, and by next week, rain will return (see more in the extended section below).
Air Quality: Good
**FROST ADVISORY**
… for the higher terrain and southern valleys of Monterey and San Benito Counties and the Diablos in Santa Clara County in effect from 1am – 9am Friday.
*Temperatures as low as 32 will result in frost formation. Temperatures in the higher elevations may drop down to as low as 28.
*Frost could harm sensitive outdoor vegetation. Sensitive outdoor plants may be killed if left uncovered. 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.
Overnight: A few low clouds over the hills along with patchy valley fog. Light winds. Lows in the upper 30s to mid-40s on the coast and upper 20s to around40ºF inland.
Friday: Becoming mostly sunny with just a few cumulus clouds over the hills and a few low clouds on the outer coast. Breezy northwesterly winds, perhaps windy at times for inland valleys. Highs in the mid-50s to mid-60s on the coast—warmest on the north side of the bay—and low to mid-60s for inland valleys.
Saturday: Clear and cold in the morning with patchy frost for inland valleys. Then, becoming mostly sunny and warmer with highs in the upper 50s to upper 60s. Light winds.
Extended: High pressure maintains control on Sunday with a warm afternoon expected. Southerly winds pick up as a weather system approaches from the west. Initially, it was looking to make a direct impact on the Monterey Bay Area, but many models are now pushing it south or keeping it offshore. We’re keeping a chance of rain in the forecast for Monday with showers lingering into Tuesday. A stronger system is expected to arrive mid-week with heavy rain and gusty winds 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: 45ºF
HIGH: 62ºF
--INLAND CITIES--
LOW: 40ºF
HIGH: 65ºF
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
-The outlook from the Climate Prediction Center for March 14th – 20th calls for the likelihood of BELOW normal temperatures and ABOVE 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: 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 7th: 53.0ºF (avg of 7 buoys)
[Historic March Avg. SST: 55.3ºF]
