Forecast for rain next week, with drier La Niña weather pattern emerging

“Our rain chances range from 30% to 50% from Tuesday to Thursday next week and we aren’t anticipating this to be a significant rainmaker for the area,” said National Weather Service meteorologist Roger Gass who added the rain will be off and on for the three-day stretch while temperatures begin to cool off.

Over the weekend, the county will see highs in the mid 60s to low 70s inland and along the coast it will be in the upper 50s for day time highs.

Overnight temperatures will reach lows in the mid 40s to lower 50s over the weekend.

Next week, temperatures should cool off a bit with temperatures in the low 60s in most of the region and upper 50s on the coast.

October, which was exceptionally dry, was a vast difference from September’s record-breaking rain spell. However, experts are predicting this winter is most likely going to be drier due to the La Niña weather pattern we are seeing.

This is the third consecutive year of a La Niña weather pattern which makes it fairly rare circumstances, Gass said.

“Through the winter months we are anticipating a La Niña pattern to persist over the Equatorial Pacific, which, in general, the region typically experiences near to below average rainfall throughout the winter season as a result,” Gass said. “Obviously, it’s not always a slam-dunk and we can have La Niña events where we can see above average rainfall.” Even though the rain is expected to be light, Gass wants county residents to be cautious while driving.

“The rain that we’re anticipating next week is going to cause wet roadways and especially after a dry period we could see more slick roadways from oil buildup and residue on the highways,” Gass said.

nick@smdailyjournal.com

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