Monterey County is nearing its rainy season, with just a couple weeks left in November.
After a rainy day in Monterey County on Monday, the National Weather Service reports that more is on the way, but it’s still too early to tell if the county can expect its average rainfall this year and into 2025.
The average rainfall total for the Monterey Airport was 0.29 inches over the last 48 hours. Residents in parts of Carmel and Pacific Grove got a little more with rain meters picking up 0.4 inches over the last 48 hours.
There is a 30% chance of rain Wednesday afternoon, mainly after 4 p.m. Although the daytime is expected to be partly sunny with a high near 62, it’s expected to get a little windy in the evening, then a chance of drizzle after 8 p.m.
The drizzle and foggy weather is forecast to continue into Thursday morning, clearing up a little for a cooler afternoon with a high near 59 and then a higher chance of rain in the evening, although the rain is expected to be less than a tenth of an inch.
The light drizzle and foggy weather is forecast throughout the week and will likely continue as the temperature drops in Monterey County.Meteorologists with the National Weather Service say Monterey County’s rainy season is December through March, where residents can expect more than 2 inches of rain on average.
“November is mostly beneficial rain because it’s the end of the fire season and the soil is still dry from the summer months,” said Dylan Flynn, meteorologist for the National Weather Service Bay Area. “When you get into December and January, that’s when the atmospheric rivers come in and you can get over an inch of rain a day.”
As the winter goes on, the soil has more moisture and makes it easier for rainy days to saturate the ground.
Flynn said there are a lot of climate indications that the National Weather Service can use to forecast rainy seasons in California, but those predictions are better used for Southern California.
“El Niño is a really strong signal for how much rain we’re going to get, and we’re pretty confident that we’re moving from El Niño to La Niña, but that doesn’t help us very much on the Central Coast,” Flynn said.
Although the National Weather Service Bay Area is predicting average rainfalls for now, similar to last year, they’ll have more accurate information as the weeks move forward.