Winds on the Increase Friday

Gusty winds will be on the increase Friday afternoon. A stronger system will then develop to our north and move into the Great Basin on Saturday. As it does so, temps will fall and the wind machine will be enhanced. The cool-down won’t last forever, however, as high pressure rebuilds out of the weekend.  

Air Quality: Good to Moderate 

Friday: Partly cloudy on the coast and mostly sunny inland with high clouds passing through. Northwesterly onshore winds strengthen into the afternoon, becoming gusty on the coast and into the valleys. Slightly cooler, with coastal highs in the upper 50s to mid-70s—warmest on the north side of the bay—and low 70s to mid-80s inland.
 
Overnight: After brief evening clearing, low clouds thicken late, becoming widespread. Patchy drizzle possible near the coast. High clouds will continue to increase by sunrise. Winds will be breezy, occasionally gusty, strongest over mountain ranges. Inland lows in the 40s to low 50s inland, coastal mainly 50s.
 
Saturday: Cloudy in the morning with patchy drizzle possible on the south/east sides of the bay. Then becoming mostly cloudy on the coast and mostly sunny inland into the afternoon. Gusty northwesterly onshore winds at times for most areas. Cooler, with coastal highs in the upper 50s to upper 60s—warmest on the north side of the bay—and mid-60s to mid-70s inland.  

Extended: High pressure begins to rebuild from the southwest as we move out of the weekend. Temperatures exceed normal already by Sunday and then push to around 10ºF above by Monday. Most of next week is looking warm but occasionally windy. Dry conditions expected.  

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This week's normal temperatures:   
--COASTAL CITIES--   
LOW: 49ºF   
HIGH: 66ºF   
--INLAND CITIES--   
LOW: 46ºF   
HIGH: 75ºF    
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-The outlook from the Climate Prediction Center for May 23^rd – 29^th 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 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 15^th : 57.1ºF (avg. of 7 buoys) [Historic May Avg. SST: 55.8ºF]