Area Forecast Discussion
Issued by NWS Eureka, CA
Issued by NWS Eureka, CA
750 FXUS66 KEKA 181121 AFDEKA AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION National Weather Service Eureka CA 421 AM PDT Tue Jun 18 2024 .SYNOPSIS...Dry weather is expected for the foreseeable future. Interior temperatures begin a slow warming trend through the work week with temperatures approaching 100 degrees in some interior valley locations Friday into Saturday. && .DISCUSSION... Dry conditions are expected to persist for the next week as dry air remains in place within the mid-levels of the atmosphere over Northwest California. Troughing the next couple days will keep temperatures over the interior near normal through Wednesday. By Thursday the trough will begin to break down and 850 mb temperatures will warm across the interior allowing some interior valleys to approach 100 degrees Friday into Saturday. All while this is occurring, northerly winds and increasing low-level moisture at the coast will result in increasing chances of coastal stratus through the week with temperatures remaining near normal at coastal sites. Temperatures will moderate a few degrees across the interior over the weekend into early next week but still remain several degrees above normal. && .AVIATION...Like early yesterday morning, extensive coastal stratus is unlikely to form into this morning, however; unlike early yesterday morning, slightly more stratus is expected to form. As of now, low clouds are forming around Humboldt Bay and down the Eel River Valley creating MVFR to IFR conditions. Brief periods of coastal stratus may be likely along the Del Norte coast due to calm wind conditions into early this morning. Winds will not be as strong at the terminals today, but by late morning to early afternoon northwesterly to westerly winds are forecast to pick back up. Gusts will be strongest for Mendocino and Lake counties and along the Del Norte Coast with high resolution models indicating gusts to 20 knots. Chances for stratus increase tonight along the coast with a high pressure system building into the region through the rest of the week. /JLW && .MARINE...Northerly winds have decreased from yesterday, but will remain in small craft criteria for all zones into mid morning. Winds will pull away from the coast north of Cape Mendocino by mid to late morning ending the small craft advisory for the northern inner zone. Each afternoon there will be a slight uptick in northerlies with the highest winds (still below gale conditions) occurring in the lee of Cape Mendocino. Coverage for the expansion fan will be sufficient to keep a small craft advisory in the southern outer waters through the middle of the week; however, by Wednesday afternoon only a small portion of the southern inner waters, just south of the Cape, will have small craft winds. Due to this, the small craft advisory for the southern inner waters will expire by Wednesday afternoon. High resolution wind models and NBM indicate that the outer zones will remain in small craft conditions through the middle/end of the week with another slight increase in winds into this weekend. Seas will remain steep through the week due to the winds, especially in the outer waters. Two to three foot, long period westerly and southwesterly swells will continue through the waters into the end of the week. /JLW && .EKA WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... CA... None. NORTHWEST CALIFORNIA COASTAL WATERS... Small Craft Advisory until 9 AM PDT this morning for PZZ450. Small Craft Advisory until 3 PM PDT Wednesday for PZZ455. Small Craft Advisory until 3 PM PDT Thursday for PZZ470-475. && $$ Visit us at https://www.weather.gov/eureka Follow us on Facebook and Twitter at: https://www.facebook.com/NWSEureka https://www.twitter.com/NWSEureka For forecast zone information see the forecast zone map online: https://www.weather.gov/images/eka/zonemap.png