Toasty Inland, Warm on the Coast

SALINAS, Calif. (KION) – Inland temperatures peak on Wednesday—it will be warmer on the coast too—as the axis of the high pressure ridge passes by. Winds will ease slightly but will still kick up in the afternoon. Temps will then cool Thursday-Friday as a weak trough develops on the West Coast.  

Air Quality: Good to Moderate    

Wednesday: Mostly sunny with a few passing high clouds. Warmer, with coastal highs in the low 60s to mid-70s—warmest on the north side of the bay—and low 80s to mid-90s inland. Northwesterly onshore winds becoming windy on the exposed coast and up valleys late in the day. 

Overnight: Mostly clear with some patchy low clouds on the south and east side of the bay. Lows will be a touch warmer, upper 40s to low 50s near the coast, mostly 40s inland with higher elevations in the mid 50s. Winds light, with occasional gusts.
 
Thursday: A few more low clouds in the morning, then mostly sunny for the rest of the day. Slightly cooler, with coastal highs in the low 60s to low 70s—warmest on the north side of the bay—and mid-70s to around 90ºF inland. Northwesterly onshore flow becoming windy on the coast and up valleys late in the day.  

Extended: Cooler yet on Friday with a trough over the West Coast. Highs will actually dip below normal and low clouds may be a little more present on the coast. A short ridge builds in for Saturday/Sunday which should warm us back up a bit before the next trough digs in. Some models are cutting off a low over Central California Monday into Tuesday which could result in some precipitation. We’ll have to keep an eye on it.  

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This week's normal temperatures: 
--COASTAL CITIES-- 
LOW: 50ºF 
HIGH: 66ºF 
--INLAND CITIES-- 
LOW: 47ºF 
HIGH: 76ºF 
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-The outlook from the Climate Prediction Center for May 28^th – June 3^rd calls for the likelihood of ABOVE normal temperatures and BELOW 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 portions of southern San Benito and southeastern Monterey Counties. Drought-free for the remainder of the KION coverage area.   
-Monterey Bay Sea Surface Temperature as of May 21^st: 55.2ºF (avg. of 7 buoys) [Historic May Avg. SST: 55.8ºF]