Robert J. Renard Nat'l Wea Serv Climatological Station Monterey, 93940

SUMMARY of the August 1998 ON THE MONTEREY PENINSULA

General: August 1998 was a mild and uneventful month, weatherwise, with above normal temperatures, very light and near seasonal proportions. Winds were lighter than climatological expectation.

Temperature: August 1998 temperatures were above normal both night and day: 70.3°F vs. 69.4°F, for the average maximum and 53.5°F vs. 52.8°F, for the average minimum ... a break from the many months of cooler than normal days and warmer than normal nights. The much warmer than normal days/nights for a good part of the early month gave way to below normal days/nights the last half, with fog most of the month. The only record temperatures recorded were on 3 August, with 83°F, vs. 81°F in 1985, and 85°F on 4 August, vs the record 79°F in 1971.

Precipitation: The first below normal rainfall month since last October! Only 0.02" fell (vs. 0.10" normal) in two days, qualifying the month's rainfall as very light! Normal year total is 0.18" at month's end, but we are still running ahead (thanks to July) with 0.27". With a "La Niña-type" year likely, more below-normal rainfall months may be in the offing!

Fog: August 1998 was a heavy-duty fog month! 27 days with one or more hours, when the visibility is six miles or less due to fog, is near the 'tops' for the month. In terms of hours with fog, the month's fog statistics are even more impressive, with well more than half of the fog days recording moderate to dense fog. There have been August's with 29 fog days (1986, 1994 --both part of a dry rain year, incidentally) and three other years with 27 fog days (1966, 1967 and 1992 --here, rain years 66/67 and 92/93 were wet!). The worst of the fog should be over as the normal number of fog days in September is 18.

Wind: Winds were lighter than seasonal, in general. The Ft. Ord station average was 8.6 miles per hour (mph). The average high daily gust was 17.9 mph at the National Weather Service Station, Monterey, with a high gust of 26 mph on 24 August.

Earthquake: An earthquake was felt across the Peninsula about 7:10 a.m. 12 August 1998, center near San Juan Bautista, 5.4 on the Richter scale. No local damage reported.

90-Day Temperature and Precipitation Outlook for the Central Coast: The National Weather Service 90-day outlook for September through November indicates near climate normals temperature and rainfall, with higher than normal rainfall to the north of the Central Coast and colder than normal temperatures over the Southwest U.S. Following are normals for the National Weather Service Climate Station (47-year database), Monterey, California.

Rainfall Normal Max/Min Temps (oF)

September 0.28 September 71.9 53.0

October 0.78 October 70.7 51.1

November 2.38 November 65.5 47.2 Comparative Weather Data for Stations on/near the Monterey Peninsula

and Salinas August 1998

Following are comparative figures from seven local observation sites: 1) the National Weather Service Climate Station (NWSCS), (elevation 385') located in the western hilly section of Monterey; 2) the National Weather Service Forecast Office (NWSFO) site (elevation 122'), located in the flat area of eastern Monterey, on the NPS Annex grounds adjacent to Airport; 3) the Naval Postgraduate School Campus (NPS), Monterey; (elevation 45’)’; 4) the Ft. Ord site (Ft. Ord (NPS)) (elevation 167') located just northwest of the Marina Municipal Airport (formerly Fritschie Field). This is the site of the Naval Postgraduate School’s wind profiler (managed by Department of ); 5) Site SE end of Marina, located about 2 2 miles ESE of Monterey Bay (elevation 80'); 6) Carmel Valley site (CV) near Village (elevation 500'); south facing slope; 7) SW Salinas (SAL) vicinity of W. Blanco Rd. within 2 miles of S. Main St.

Location Temperature (oF) Precipitation (inches) Wind (mph)

Avg. Highest Avg. Lowest Nov (01Jul-31Aug) Norm Max Ave Max. Min. this rain year Gust (% of norm)

NWSCS 70.3 85 53.5 50 0.02 a 0.27 (150%) 0.18 @ 26 (24th)

NWSFO N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A ---- 22 5.6** (16th)

NPS 69.2 80 55.0 50 0.00 c 0.09 (75%) 0.12 # ------

Ft. Ord NPS 66.8 76 51.8 49 0.02 b 0.03 26 8.6 (14th)

Marina 68.7 75 54.6 50 0.05 d 0.13 (77%) 0.17 &

CV 84.6 109 51.7 44 0.00 e 0.05 (50%) 0.10 #

SAL 74.5 88 54.7 48 trace e trace 0.01 +

FOOTNOTES: observations for precipitation: a = 6 PM PST, b = midnight PST, c = 4 PM local, d = 6 PM local, e = 8 AM local (NOTE: for e: 24-h rainfall measured 8 AM, first day of the month counts for previous month) @ = 47-year average, # = 40-year average, + = 10-year average, **= seven days of missing data, & = 14-year average