It’s December, After All

AIR QUALITY:
GOOD to MODERATE for most areas, UNHEALTHY FOR SENSITIVE GROUPS in Boulder Creek

WEATHER STORY
We’ll get a bit of a break from rain for a few days—but only a few days! A cooler, drier air mass will move in for the next few days with chilly mornings Friday and Saturday. A stronger system will then arrive out of the weekend bringing moderate to heavy rain along with gusty winds. Additional rain will be possible for the remainder next week. We’ll also see a chance of thunderstorms on Tuesday along with lowering snow levels. There are a lot of pieces with this coming system, so please stay tuned to the forecast.

Overnight: Mostly clear to partly cloudy with a few high and low clouds. Chilly, with coastal lows in the upper 30s to low 40s and mainly 30s inland. Breezy northerly winds over the hills.

Friday: Mostly sunny with a few high clouds passing through. Cool, with highs in the 50s for most areas.

Saturday: Colder in the morning with widespread frost inland (lows in the mid 20s to mid 30s) and patchy frost to the coast (lows in the 30s). Skies remain mostly sunny through the day with an increase late. Expect highs in the 50s to low 60s.

Extended:  Clouds will begin to increase in advance of a weather system that won’t really be here until later in the day on Sunday. This is a stronger system and will be packed with wind & rain. Rain is possible starting Sunday night and then likely on Monday and could be heavy at times in the coastal mountains. A secondary system will keep the rain machine going into Tuesday where lowering snow levels and the chance for thunderstorms will make things even more interesting. Additional waves follow, bringing more rain later in the week.

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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 December 17^th – 23^rd calls for the likelihood of BELOW normal temperatures and ABOVE normal precipitation.
- El Niño/La Niña STATUS: La Niña Advisory
- Forecast into Winter: Weak La Niña

-Area drought status: “Extreme Drought” for the entire viewing area with the far southeastern corner of Monterey County and far eastern San Benito County considered “Exceptional Drought”