Area Forecast Discussion
Issued by NWS Los Angeles, CA

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126 FXUS66 KLOX 122132 AFDLOX Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Los Angeles/Oxnard CA 232 PM PDT Wed Jun 12 2024 .SYNOPSIS...
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12/123 PM. Low clouds and fog are expected through at least Friday morning across coast and coastal valleys with temperatures 3-6 degrees below normal. Gusty north winds are expected Friday into the weekend, mainly in the mountains and southern Santa Barbara County and adjacent coastal waters. Warming temperatures are expected Friday through weekend, with faster clearing of low clouds.
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&& .SHORT TERM (TDY-SAT)...
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12/207 PM. While significant warming is on the way, we are still looking at a couple days of similarly cool temperatures, long lasting low clouds and fog, and possibly some morning drizzle. An upper low that has been spinning a few hundred miles southwest of KLAX will finally start moving towards the coast later tonight and pass overhead Thursday afternoon based on all the latest ensemble forecasts. We`re still seeing onshore trends in the gradients which is indicative of an approaching trough, and overnight there should be a corresponding increase in marine layer depth. With this in mind we may see an increase in drizzle later tonight and Thursday morning across coast and valleys. Likely won`t see it everywhere in those locations as the low won`t pass directly overhead until the afternoon, but the pattern seems favorable for at least spotty drizzle tonight and Thursday morning. And to go along with that, a deeper marine layer will mean slower clearing and cooler temperatures. Changes start happening rapidly Friday after the low zips off into AZ. Northerly flow will quickly be ramping up over the northern coastal waters and by Friday evening models are showing solid gale force winds. The northerly flow will also be impacting the western portions of SLO and SB Counties, generating some gusty Sundowner winds and downslope warming off the Santa Lucia and Santa Ynez Ranges Friday into Friday night. Will certainly be needing wind advisories across those areas with around a 30-40% chance of gusts to around 60 mph (warning level) in the more favorable north wind areas such as the hills above Montecito. At the same time models show very warm temperatures developing during the evening and overnight periods and this looks like a situation where temperatures stay in the 80s and possibly even low 90s throughout much of the night in the Santa Ynez Range and even down into the coastal plain. Advisory level winds also expected across the northern Ventura mountains and the Grapevine areas. Some of those winds will filter down into the LA valleys but probably not stronger than 30 mph. Marine layer stratus will be quickly dissipating from the north Friday and most areas should see much earlier clearing. By Saturday morning stratus coverage will either be zero or just minimal clouds across the coast from LA to Ventura county. Saturday will be a much warmer day for most areas. Warmest locations will be in the Sundowner areas where highs in the 80s and lower 90s are likely, even at some beach areas in SLO and SB Counties. This may require the issuance of heat advisories for parts of the Central Coast and southern Santa Barbara County with highs 15-20 degrees above normal. Elsewhere, warmer valleys also expected to be in the 90s and coastal areas in the 70s to lower 80s. Another round of warm and gusty Sundowner winds are expected Saturday night. .LONG TERM (SUN-WED)...12/230 PM. Sunday will be an interesting day as there will still be strong northerly winds continuing across the western counties, adjacent coastal waters, and the northern mountains. However, models have been consistent showing the development of a coastal eddy circulation developing off the coast of LA and Orange Counties and significant cooling at least for LA/Ventura County coast and valley areas. And most of the models are even showing several degrees of cooling across inland areas of LA/Ventura Counties as well. Will likely still see advisory level Sundowner winds again Sunday into Monday for the Santa Barbara area but probably not quite as warm as the previous couple days. With the eddy developing later in the weekend will likely see marine layer stratus moving up from the south and into coastal LA/Ventura Counties. Northerly flow expected to remain quite strong across the offshore coastal waters through the middle of next week, which will keep at least a threat of Sundowner winds going for southern Santa Barbara Counties going into next week as well. For this reason, stratus coverage should be confined to just LA/Ventura Counties at least for the first half of the week. Temperatures in these areas will drop back to normal or slightly below normal levels. For SLO and northern Santa Barbara Counties, gusty northwest winds will continue, especially near the coast, but little or no marine layer stratus is expected. Temperatures will generally be within a few degrees of normal.
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&& .AVIATION...
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12/2025Z. At 20Z at KLAX, the marine layer was 1700 ft deep. The top of the inversion was at 5200 ft with a temperature of 20 C. High confidence in VFR conds for KPRB, KPMD and KWJF thru the period. Early this afternoon, cigs are scattering and clearing south of KCMA. Farther north, coastal and valley locations will continue to experience MVFR cigs through the remainder of the day today. Expect widespread low clouds in all coastal and valley areas again tonight, with the exception of the interior valleys of SLO County and the Cuyama Valley. Conds should be mostly IFR to low MVFR, except locally LIFR to VLIFR in the foothills and north of Pt. Conception. In addition, accompanying the low clouds, there will be a 50-70% chance for vsbys to become MVFR tonight/Thurs morning and drizzle will be possible in a few areas (40% chance). KLAX...Moderate confidence in TAF. There is a 40% chance of IFR conditions between 09Z and 15Z Thu. Any east wind component should remain weaker than 7 kt. KBUR...Moderate confidence in TAF. There is a 40% chance of IFR conditions between 09Z and 15Z Thu.
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&& .MARINE...
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12/125 PM. In the outer waters, high confidence in the forecast. Winds and seas are expected to remain below Small Craft Advisory (SCA) levels thru Thu afternoon, then an extended period of strong NW winds is likely. SCA winds will occur starting Thu night, increasing to Gale Force Friday afternoon with Gales continuing into Monday afternoon. SCAs and Gale Watches have been issued. There is even a 20-30% chance of STORM Force wind gusts (to 48 kt or greater) at times Fri night thru Sun night, mainly during the evening hours. In the inner waters N of Pt. Sal, conditions will likely remain below SCA levels thru Fri morning. SCA conds are likely (80% chance) Fri afternoon thru Sun night. Winds may drop below SCA levels for a few hours during the late night thru morning hours, but seas will likely remain at or above SCA levels. There is a 40-50% chance of Gale force winds during the afternoon/eve hours Sat and Sun. In the Santa Barbara Channel, conds will likely remain below SCA levels thru Thu afternoon. There is a 30% chance of SCA level winds in western portions Thu night. SCA level winds are likely (80% chance) across western portions of the SBA Channel during the late afternoon thru late night hours Fri thru Sun, with a 40% chance of Gale force winds during these hours Sat and Sun. In the eastern portion of the SBA Channel, SCA conds are likely (60-70% chance) during the late afternoon thru late evening hours Fri thru Sun. Steep waves of 8 to 12 ft are likely late Fri thru Mon. In the southern inner waters, forecast confidence is lower. There is a 30% chance of SCA level W-NW winds in northwestern portions Fri afternoon/evening, and a 60% chance of SCA conds Sat afternoon thru Sun night, mainly from Anacapa Island to Malibu. There will likely be steep and dangerous seas, possibly to SCA levels Sat-Mon.
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&& .LOX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
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CA...NONE. PZ...Small Craft Advisory in effect from 2 AM to 2 PM PDT Friday for zones 670-673-676. (See LAXMWWLOX). Gale Watch in effect from Friday afternoon through Monday afternoon for zones 670-673-676. (See LAXMWWLOX).
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&& $$ PUBLIC...MW AVIATION...Cohen/DB MARINE...DB/Cohen SYNOPSIS...MW weather.gov/losangeles Experimental Graphical Hazardous Weather Outlook at: https://www.weather.gov/erh/ghwo?wfo=lox