It’s Gonna Be May (Gray)
SALINAS, Calif. (KION) – Cool and cloudy conditions will persist along the coast into Friday. Winds will begin to pick up as a deep trough approaches the West Coast. Temperatures will drop sharply into Saturday—most notably inland. Winds could gust as high as 40mph, and there will be some chance for precipitation. Isolated showers will be possible, but a light drizzly rain may be the most likely form and that is most likely early on Saturday. Shower chances linger into Sunday, but mainly over the southern hills.
Air Quality: Good to Moderate
Overnight: Low clouds for the coast and inland valleys with patchy fog in the coastal hills and inland. Can’t rule out a spritz of drizzle. Lows in the upper 40s to low 50s on the coast and mid-40s to around 50ºF inland.
Friday: Low clouds retreat to the coast in the afternoon but will linger on the south side of the bay. Coastal areas will be slightly warmer with highs in the upper 50s to upper 60s—warmest on the north side of the bay—and inland areas will be slightly cooler, with highs ranging from the upper 60s to mid-80s. Gusty west-northwesterly onshore winds pick up in the afternoon. Cumulus clouds will develop over the inland mountains, but shower chances will be low.
Saturday: Widespread clouds early with patchy drizzle on the coast. Then, becoming partly cloudy with an isolated shower possible. Much cooler with highs in the upper 50s to mid-60s. Gusty west-northwesterly winds at times.
Extended: A few wrap-around showers may linger in the southern mountains on Sunday, but otherwise dry weather is expected into next week. High pressure will build in, sending temperatures upward—above normal by Monday for all areas. Most of next week looks warm and dry, though we may be dealing with coastal clouds at times.
*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: 48ºF
HIGH: 65ºF
--INLAND CITIES--
LOW: 44ºF
HIGH: 73ºF
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-The outlook from the Climate Prediction Center for May 9th – 15th calls for the likelihood of ABOVE normal temperatures and near normal precipitation.
- ENSO (El Niño/La Niña) STATUS: Neutral
- ENSO Forecast: Neutral conditions persist through summer & possibly into next winter.
-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 May 1st : 56.2ºF (avg. of 7 buoys) [Historic May Avg. SST: 55.8ºF]
