Air Quality Forecast

January 22 – January 26: Scattered showers in the area this morning will diminish as the day progresses and the low-pressure system generating the precipitation progressively moves south down the CA coast. As the low makes its way south, a compressed pressure gradient should make for relatively breezy conditions Thursday night and into Friday morning.  Beyond this, expect zonal flow and seasonal conditions with a few atmospheric perturbations in the Pacific threatening to bring unstable conditions to the region potentially next week. Temperatures will range from the mid-40s to the low-60s at the coast and low-40s to the high-60s inland. Ozone levels should remain below State standards; therefore, ozone AQIs will remain GOOD. Recent moisture should keep PM10 (dust) AQIs in the Salinas Valley at GOOD as well. As low-pressure remains in the region, decent ventilation should help clear out any PM2.5 (smoke). However, as conditions stabilize, AQIs could reach into the MODERATE-UNHEALTHY FOR SENSITIVE GROUPS range. This is especially true for the San Lorenzo Valley where woodsmoke can exacerbate air quality.

Particulate Matter Sensor Network

 

Regulatory Air Monitoring Stations