Area Forecast Discussion
Issued by NWS Los Angeles, CA

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906 FXUS66 KLOX 121608 AFDLOX Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Los Angeles/Oxnard CA 908 AM PDT Wed Jun 12 2024 .SYNOPSIS...
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12/858 AM. Low clouds and fog are expected through at least Friday across coast and coastal valleys with temperatures 3-6 degrees below normal. Gusty north winds are expected Friday night into the weekend, mainly in the mountains and southern Santa Barbara County and adjacent coastal waters. Warming temperatures are expected this weekend, with faster clearing of low clouds.
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&& .SHORT TERM (TDY-FRI)...
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12/908 AM. ***UPDATE*** Marine layer depth is around 2000-2500 feet this morning and covered the entire coast and most of the coastal valleys. A moderate onshore trend today will again keep clouds along the coast much of the day but clear across the valleys by late morning. Temperatures will remain below normal in most areas through at least Friday, but near to slightly above normal across the interior. An upper low continues to spin a few hundred miles to our southwest and will remain there through tonight but will begin to move northeast Thursday and likely be over the San Diego area Thursday afternoon before moving into AZ Friday. ***From Previous Discussion*** The lower hgts and weak PVA associated with the low will lift the marine to over 3000 ft. Low clouds will overspread all the coasts and vlys and likely penetrate deep into the mtn passes. This amount of lift will also likely produce a good amount of drizzle or even light rain near the foothills. Clearing will be slow and if the marine layer deepens enough the vly clouds will morph into a field of strata- cu. Onshore flow will remain near 9mb to the east and it will be another day of slow to no clearing across the coasts. The low will bring some mid level dynamics into the area. This along with the very high sun angle will destabilize the atmosphere over the mtns. There is, however, only a very thin slice of mid level moisture and this will eliminate the threat of convection. There will likely be some CU or ACCAS clouds over the LA/VTA mtns in the afternoon. The marine layer, onshore flow and lower than normal hgts will all contribute to max temps 3 to 6 degrees below normal with the exception of the Antelope Vly which will end up about 3 degrees above normal. This is the most likely scenario. There is a 20 percent chc that the upper low will weaken the marine inversion either by mechanical mixing or cool air advection into the inversion layer. If this happens there will be much less low clouds and a substantial warm up. Both today and Thursday afternoons the strong 9mb onshore push to the east will generate gusty winds across the Antelope Vly and its western foothills. While there will likely be isolated advisory level gusts the majority of the winds will be under advisory levels. A big change in Srn CA`s weather will begin on Friday as the upper low departs the area. Quickly rising hgts, sunny skies and offshore trends will bring 4 to 8 degree of warming to all areas save for the coast where the marine layer and onshore flow will still hold sway. High pressure will build into the northwest to north in the afternoon. All of the N/S gradients will quickly reverse from onshore to offshore. These sfc gradients will combine with modest NW flow aloft to produce Sundowner wind event across Srn SBA county. Current ensemble guidance gives an 80 percent chc of advisory level wind gusts and a 20 percent chc of warning level gusts. It will be windy through the I-5 corridor as well with a 50 percent chc of advisory level gusts. These north winds will greatly reduce the marine layer clouds. .LONG TERM (SAT-TUE)...12/327 AM. Saturday will be a very warm day. Hgts will approach 590 dam and there will likely be offshore flow from both the north and east. The offshore push from the east is not strong to generate much in the way of NE winds and the winds will remain predominately from the north. Low clouds will likely be confined to the Long Beach area. Most areas will warm 6 to 12 degrees. The coasts will end up 2 to 4 degrees above normal and inland areas 6 to 12 degrees. The one exception will be the SBA south coast where a forecast max temps of 85 degrees or 15 degrees above normal. Northerly advisory level winds will remain likely over portions of SBA county. These winds and max temps will combine with low humidities to produce enhanced fire weather conditions. Please reference the fire weather discussion below for more exact details. Deterministic and ensemble forecasts agree that an upper low over the PAC NW will bring a troffier pattern to the state and hgts will lower to about 580 dam. Offshore flow will continue at the sfc but it will be a little weaker than on Saturday. Some marine layer clouds may develop across western SBA county and the Long Beach area, but would not be surprised if skies ended up totally clear. Max temps are forecast to lower each day. The blended ensemble guidance may be a little too aggressive with the cooling because the offshore flow effects would likely overwhelm the synoptic scale cooling. Onshore flow returns on Tuesday and along with continued troffing aloft should result in more marine clouds and temps cooling to near normals.
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&& .AVIATION...12/1304Z. At 12Z at KLAX, the marine layer was 2300 ft deep. The top of the inversion was at 4800 ft with a temperature of 23 C. High confidence in VFR conds for KPRB, KPMD and KWJF thru the period. Low clouds were widespread in all coastal and valley areas this morning, with the exception of the interior valleys of SLO County and the Cuyama Valley. Conditions were mostly IFR to LIFR, except low MVFR in coastal sections of L.A./VTU Counties, and the locally VLIFR in the foothills and north of Pt. Conception. There could be some drizzle this morning. Expect cigs to scatter out by mid to late morning in the valleys and early afternoon on the coastal plain. However, cigs may linger near the coast south of Pt. Conception thru the day. 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. KLAX...Moderate confidence in TAF. There is a 20-30% chance that there will be no clearing at all this afternoon. There is a 20% chance of IFR condition between 09Z and 15Z Thu. Any east wind component should remain weaker than 7 kt. KBUR...Moderate confidence in TAF. There is a 20-30% chance that cigs will not scatter out until 21Z. There is a 20-30% chance that cigs tonight will arrive as early as 06Z. && .MARINE...12/426 AM. In the outer waters, good 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 are likely Thu night, except maybe not until Fri in the southern zone (PZZ676). SCA level winds and seas are a near certainty (95% chance) Fri thru Mon. There is a 50-60% chance of Gale force winds Fri afternoon or evening thru early Mon. 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. && .LOX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... CA...NONE. PZ...NONE. && $$ PUBLIC...MW/Rorke AVIATION...DB MARINE...DB SYNOPSIS...MW weather.gov/losangeles Experimental Graphical Hazardous Weather Outlook at: https://www.weather.gov/erh/ghwo?wfo=lox