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

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717 FXUS66 KMTR 130405 AFDMTR Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service San Francisco CA 905 PM PDT Wed Jun 12 2024 ...New UPDATE... .SYNOPSIS... Issued at 1234 PM PDT Wed Jun 12 2024 Quiet through the rest of the week. Near normal temps by the weekend. Increasing confidence for high wind potential and increased fire danger Sunday into early next week. && .UPDATE...
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Issued at 856 PM PDT Wed Jun 12 2024 No changes to the forecast were require attm. Temperatures will return to near normal for the end of the week through the weekend. Gusty west/northwest surface winds will spread across our area over the weekend into the beginning of next week, with elevated fire weather concerns likely following suit.
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&& .SHORT TERM... (This evening through Thursday) Issued at 1234 PM PDT Wed Jun 12 2024 Noticeably cooler temps today across the area as the upper level ridge moves out and the marine layer deepens in response to a weak mid level shortwave trough. Additionally, more robust marine stratus associated with moisture from a weak disturbance off the coast of southern CA will continue to linger for areas from around Santa Cruz to the Big Sur coast. A few degrees warmer for Thursday as the shortwave kicks out. Overall not much in the way of impactful changes in the short term. Pleasant day ahead on Thursday with little in the way of heat risk. && .LONG TERM... (Thursday night through next Tuesday) Issued at 1234 PM PDT Wed Jun 12 2024 Heading into the weekend will be relatively quiet as temps cool a bit again down to around seasonal normals. The real story will be later in the weekend and into early next week. A deep upper low currently up in the Gulf of Alaska becomes dislodged and moves into the Pacific Northwest, kicking off another deep disturbance sliding into the West Coast/Great Basin. Well advertised by ensemble cluster analysis, there is high confidence in this pattern change taking place Sunday into Tuesday. Placement of the upper level trough axis is key when determining where the strongest winds will be and their direction. There is higher confidence that the strongest winds will remain over the waters and near coastal areas, including more inland coastal gaps such as the Petaluma Gap, San Bruno Gap, and other NW-SE oriented valleys. While we aren`t expecting any widespread offshore winds as of this forecast, the positioning of the trough will ultimately be the deciding factor, so stay tuned to future updates as confidence gradually increases. With grasses and fine fuels drying out rapidly, it looks like the Sunday-Monday timeframe is one to watch when it comes to elevated fire danger, particularly in the North Bay where fine fuels are drier than elsewhere around the Bay Area and Central Coast. For now, moisture recovery looks decent going into the weekend as winds should remain onshore, but we are keeping a close eye on the positioning of the trough and will update messaging accordingly. && .AVIATION... (00Z TAFS) Issued at 434 PM PDT Wed Jun 12 2024 MVFR stratus continues at the immediate coast south of the Golden Gate and throughout the Monterey Bay region. Breezy onshore winds with a southerly component are developing across the region and will diminish in the evening. MVFR-IFR stratus builds back at the coast and the Salinas Valley overnight. Some models show stratus flowing through the Golden Gate tonight, but probabilities are low and the TAFs remain VFR. Ceilings lift through Thursday morning and onshore winds return in the afternoon. Vicinity of SFO... Model guidance suggests a low confidence for IFR- MVFR ceilings at the terminal late tonight, and returning later Thursday evening, but with low probabilities (at most 10-20%) the TAFs remain VFR throughout. Southerly winds are beginning to strengthen and will gust to around 20-25 knots. Winds diminish overnight and turn towards the northwest on Thursday, gusting to around 15-20 knots. SFO Bridge Approach... Similar to SFO. Monterey Bay Terminals... The terminals remain at MVFR through the day, with ceilings falling to IFR overnight. Breezy onshore winds gusting to around 20 knots continuing through the evening when winds diminish, before returning Thursday afternoon. A moderate confidence (60-70% probability) that VFR returns late Thursday morning, with a potential for an early return for stratus at MRY just before the end of the TAF period. && .MARINE... (Tonight through next Monday) Issued at 434 PM PDT Wed Jun 12 2024 Northwesterly winds persist over the northern waters through the end of the week with gale force gusts possible over the northern waters through early Thursday. Widespread strong northwesterly winds with gale force gusts will build by the weekend and continue into next week. Significant wave heights up to around 12 to 15 feet in the outer waters continue into the weekend. && .MTR WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... CA...None. PZ...Small Craft Advisory until 3 AM PDT Thursday for Pt Arena to Pt Reyes 0-10 nm. Small Craft Advisory from 3 PM Thursday to 3 AM PDT Friday for Pigeon Pt to Pt Pinos 10-60 NM-Pt Arena to Pt Reyes 0-10 nm. Gale Warning until 9 AM PDT Thursday for Pt Arena to Pt Reyes 10- 60 NM. && $$ SHORT TERM...Behringer LONG TERM....Behringer AVIATION...DialH MARINE...DialH 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