Wind, rain, and cold weather coming to Monterey County.

It’s still wintertime in Monterey County, and the weather this weekend will live up to that schedule. 

A winter weather advisory is in place for the county until the late morning Feb. 23, but forecasts of rain, high winds, low temperatures, and chances of snow at high elevations will be in place all week. 

The storm starts tonight, Feb. 21, into Wednesday morning, bringing cold air that will drop temperatures dramatically. Though officials have an idea of what to expect, it’s unclear exactly how this will play out into next week. 

“It’s going to be kind of tricky, because there’s so much going on,” says Brooke Bingaman, meteorologist for National Weather Service Bay Area headquartered in Monterey. “There’s wind, potential for rain, and snow at low elevations, so it’s going to be a little harder to say what the impact will be.” 

Meteorologists recommend taking extra precautions when traveling by car this week. 

“Anytime we have wind gusts, that can affect travel. High-profile vehicles like trucks and vans [are most at risk] but, even smaller cars can feel those gusts. You want to have both hands on the wheel especially when you’re closer to the coast or up in the mountains,” Bingaman says. 

At lower elevations, there is also a possibility of reduced visibility, in addition to the wind that could damage trees and affect road traffic. 

A high wind advisory is in effect for Tuesday and Wednesday, and later on Thursday, there are higher chances of rainfall. 

“The heaviest rain should be occurring more on Thursday evening into Friday afternoon. That’s also when we’ll have the highest amount over the Big Sur area,” Bingaman says. 

The weather’s impact on the community depends on what kind of precipitation falls. Rainfall increases the chances of flooding and runoff, but snow will move slower. 

Precipitation will likely wain into the weekend, but the community should still be aware of the cold weather. 

“It’s still going to be fairly chilly most of Saturday and even into Sunday morning,” Bingaman says.