Area Forecast Discussion
Issued by NWS San Francisco Bay Area, CA

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000 FXUS66 KMTR 171804 AAA AFDMTR Area Forecast Discussion...UPDATED National Weather Service San Francisco CA 1104 AM PDT Wed Apr 17 2024 ...New AVIATION, MARINE... .SYNOPSIS... Issued at 154 PM PDT Tue Apr 16 2024 Warm, dry, and quiet this week as high pressure dominates. Onshore flow and increased cloudiness late week as a weak trough moves in. && .SHORT TERM... (Wednesday and Wednesday Night) Issued at 1125 PM PDT Tue Apr 16 2024 High pressure at the surface and aloft will prevail across the northeast Pacific. This will be the primary short-term influencer on the weather regime across the Bay Area and Central Coast. Temperatures early this morning are already fairly mild in the thermal belts with readings in the 60s. And with plenty of sunshine expect temperatures to climb rather quickly for most areas today. Afternoon highs will generally reach the mid 70s to lower 80s for most areas. The exception will be along the coastal interface and within the marine-influenced valleys where a light onshore breeze will keep temperatures in the mid 60s to around 70. There are some vestiges of a very shallow marine layer along the coast so can`t rule out some AM stratus or fog, but if it were to develop it should mix out rather quickly after sunrise. && .LONG TERM... (Thursday through next Tuesday) Issued at 1125 PM PDT Tue Apr 16 2024 After peaking on Wednesday the upper ridge will gradually lose influence through late week in response to a weak perturbation translating through the mean westerly flow. This wave will be moisture-starved, so we`re not looking for any meaningful precipitation, however we do expect more stratus, stronger onshore flow, and cooler temperatures for Friday into the weekend. It`s possible we could wring out a little orographically influenced coastal drizzle, but confidence isn`t high enough to include this in the forecast just yet. Temperatures will cool a few degrees on Thursday, with a more notable cooling (especially along the coast) by Friday. The ridge rebuilds a bit over the weekend with a slight warming trend. However onshore winds will keep things cooler by the coast. Dry conditions should prevail. && .AVIATION...
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(18Z TAFS) Issued at 1033 AM PDT Wed Apr 17 2024 VFR will prevail through this evening with largely diurnal breezes at all terminals. Tonight...MVFR and potentially IFR ceilings and/or visibility is forecast at all terminals except LVK and APC. Confidence is low to moderate in the ceiling/visibility parts of the TAF. Vicinity of SFO...VFR will prevail as the NE`ly SF Bay breezes become more NW`ly through the afternoon. Speeds will range between 10-15 knots with moderate to high confidence in the winds forecast. Winds subside below 5 knots around 04Z which may allow for some flexibility for rwy configs. VFR cigs around FL200 will continue to stream in overhead. Between 12-16Z, intermittent MVFR cigs around FL025 are forecast as NE`ly SF Bay breezes return. Confidence in MVFR is low to moderate. VFR is forecast to return by 18Z Thu with NE`ly SF Bay breezes becoming NW`ly. SFO Bridge Approach...MVFR cigs may obscure approach 11-18Z Thu. Otherwise, similar to SFO. Monterey Bay Terminals...VFR currently, however, the best opportunity of IFR visibility and/or ceilings reside here. Diurnal breezes under 15 knots are forecast to dominate through the TAF period. The window in which the IFR probability (around 30-40%) peaks at MRY between 10-14Z with chances of IFR at SNS under 20%. Intermittent MVFR cigs should lift by 15Z at SNS. VFR is not forecast to return until after 18Z Thursday at MRY.
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&& .MARINE...
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(Today through Monday) Issued at 1033 AM PDT Wed Apr 17 2024 Northerly wind gusts of 20 to 30 knots are forecast to continue today before subsiding through the day on Thursday. Wind gusts on Thursday will fall below 20 knots. Moderate period northwest swell continues to move through the waters through the remainder of the week. Longer period...18 seconds...southerly swell will also be present through the week. This weekend will see a return to increased northerly winds with near Gale force wind gusts forecast late Saturday into Sunday in the wake of a cold front. Seas will respond shortly thereafter with wave heights increasing to above 10 feet.
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&& .MTR WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
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CA...None. PZ...Small Craft Advisory until 3 AM PDT Thursday for Pt Arena to Pt Reyes 10-60 NM. Small Craft Advisory until 9 PM PDT this evening for Pigeon Pt to Pt Pinos 10-60 NM.
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&& $$ SHORT TERM...SPM LONG TERM....SPM AVIATION...Bain MARINE...Bain Visit us at www.weather.gov/sanfrancisco Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube at: www.facebook.com/nwsbayarea www.twitter.com/nwsbayarea www.youtube.com/nwsbayarea

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