Relief From The Heat & Smoke?

Air Quality Report (As of 11:30PM)

Big Sur                          9 Good
Carmel Valley              88 Moderate
Gonzales                     138 Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups
Greenfield                   134 Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups
Hollister                      170 Unhealthy
King City                    129 Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups
Monterey                      90 Moderate
San Lorenzo Valley     81 Moderate
Salinas                          83 Moderate
Santa Cruz                   64 Moderate
Soledad                       134 Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups
Watsonville                  77 Moderate


The ridge of high pressure that brought heat, smoke, and critical fire conditions will start to break down this weekend. This will allow for region-wide cooling, a refreshing gulp of clean air off the ocean, and the return of low clouds & fog. Moisture from what is now Hurricane Marie will stream into the area late next week and could lead to some rain. It’s still too far out to be specific at this point, however.

From the National Weather Service in Monterey…
***RED FLAG WARNING***
… for the Santa Lucia Range and Los Padres National Forest along with the Diablo Range in Santa Clara County and the Santa Cruz Mountains extended through 6AM Saturday

Expect northeast winds of 10 to 20 mph, gusts 25 to 30 mph. Strongest winds will be found above 2000 feet with strongest gusts above 2500 feet and during the overnight and early morning hours.

10 to 20 percent humidity, dropping as low as the single digits with little or no nighttime recovery or a tendency to lower into the single digits between 3 am and sunrise. Driest
above 2000 feet.

HIGHEST THREAT: The Dolan Fire and any new ignitions in the forest.

Any fires that start will spread rapidly.

A RED FLAG WARNING means that critical fire weather conditions are either occurring now or will shortly. A combination of strong winds, low relative humidity, and warm temperatures can contribute to extreme fire behavior. Listen for later forecasts and possible Red Flag Warnings.


Overnight: Patchy low clouds/fog/smog possible right along the coast. Otherwise, hazy with reduced air quality. Dry northerly winds continue over the hills with light winds in the valleys. Lows in the 50s to low 60s for most areas, but 70s up in the hills.

Saturday: After another warm, dry night in the hills, offshore winds will slowly taper off through the morning hours. Saturday will still be quite warm for most areas with 70s-80s on the coast and 90s to low 100s inland. Smoky at times, but air quality will be slightly better.

Sunday: Patchy low clouds on the coast, otherwise sunny and hazy. Air quality will be better, but not perfect. Cooler, with coastal highs in the mid-60s to upper 70s and mid-80s to around 101ºF inland.

Extended: Seasonable to slightly warm weather expected next week with a few low clouds near the coast and occasional passing high clouds. Moisture will continue to stream in by the end of the week and as a weather system approaches from the north late next week/into the weekend, rain may be possible. Stay tuned!

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This week's normal temperatures:
--COASTAL CITIES--
LOW: 52ºF
HIGH: 71ºF

--INLAND CITIES--
LOW: 48ºF
HIGH: 83ºF

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-The outlook from the Climate Prediction Center for October 10^th - 16^th calls for the likelihood of ABOVE normal temperatures and ABOVE normal precipitation. 
 
-El Niño/La Niña STATUS: Neutral
-Forecast into Winter: La Niña Watch

-Area drought status: Moderate drought for much of Santa Cruz & Santa Clara Counties, Abnormally dry on the east shore of the bay into San Benito County. No drought classification for much of Monterey County outside of the Gabilan Range.