Area Forecast Discussion
Issued by NWS Medford, OR

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918 FXUS66 KMFR 230401 AFDMFR Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Medford OR 901 PM PDT Sat Jun 22 2024 .DISCUSSION...
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The forecast does not require any changes this evening. A weak dry front will push marine moisture inland tonight, bringing slight (10-20%) chances of drizzly precipitation over Coos and Douglas counties. Temperatures on Sunday will cool by 5 to 10 degrees west of the Cascades and by 5 degrees or less to the east. Please see the previous discussion for more details about the short- and long-term forecast. -TAD
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&& .AVIATION (23/00Z TAFs)...
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Overnight, LIFR/IFR conditions along the coast, will surge into the Coquille and Umpqua valleys, generally lifting to IFR 06Z with the arrival of a weak front. This may also produce drizzle/light showers near shore into early Sunday morning. Conditions in the Umpqua Basin are expected to be MVFR, including beginning around 08Z at Roseburg (KRBG). The marine layer will not be deep enough to broadly spill over the Rogue-Umpqua Divide, but there could be some scattered clouds that develop over the Illinois and Applegate Valleys around sunrise Sunday morning. The coastal and Umpqua stratus will gradually dissipate after sunrise, with VFR likely to develop across the area by 19Z. Elsewhere, conditions will remain VFR with gusty afternoon westerly winds expected to resemble those from Saturday. /DW
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&& .MARINE...
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Updated 800 PM Saturday, June 22, 2024...A weak front will bring a surge of stratus tonight into Sunday with light showers possible across the northern waters. The thermal trough will restrengthen Sunday, bringing increasing north winds and steepening seas. Steep seas are expected for much of the waters south of Cape Blanco, with very steep and hazardous seas developing south of Pistol River by Sunday evening. These conditions will persist through Monday evening before the approach of another front disrupts the pattern into mid-week. The outlook is for a return of the thermal trough pattern late in the week. /BR-y/DW
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&& .FIRE WEATHER...
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Updated 200 PM Saturday, June 22, 2024...East of the Cascades, brief durations of both critical wind & humidity are possibly today through Monday. Modoc County in particular will reach critical RH/wind tomorrow for more than 50% of the county, and after talking with fuels experts, we felt it was necessary to issue a warning for areas where fuels are more receptive, albeit perhaps still on the moderate side. Critical fire weather conditions are not expected for areas on the westside. This will be thanks to good overnight recoveries (80% and higher) in valleys and moderate to good humidity recoveries over upper slopes and ridges (50-70%) overnight. Afternoon humidities in these areas will bottom out in in the 20 percent range with typical afternoon breezy conditions. No lightning is expected over the forecast area through at least Tuesday. Looking ahead, Wednesday in particular could bring elevated to critical fire weather conditions as a strong low pressure system moves into the area. The threat of strong winds associated with this system has our attention. Stay tuned as this is Day 5 so changes could occur. Specifically, if the system trends farther south, we may have stronger wind speeds and a chance for thunderstorms. -Guerrero
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&& .PREV DISCUSSION...
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/Issued 251 PM PDT Sat Jun 22 2024/ DISCUSSION...A decline in temperatures is expected Sunday and Monday as front moves across the region, most notably west of the Cascades. This won`t be before we have one last hot day, today. Mt. Shasta City is already within three degrees of the previous record max temperature today of 96 degrees (1992), is on track to at least tie it, and there is a 40% chance the temperature rises above this record. Some cumulus is beginning to pop along and east of the Cascades as well, but we are not expecting any of these to become rain producers. The rain production, or more likely drizzle, production will be possible tonight into Sunday morning as moisture gets pooled along the front, and wrung out through topographic lifting into the Coast range and Cascade Foothills in Douglas County. The more noticeable impact from this front will be a strong marine push and the stratus that will accompany it. There is a high chance that this stratus fills the coastal valleys, but there remains uncertainty if the clouds will push into the central Umpqua Basin because of the existing dry air. Winds will also be amplified today about 4-8 mph faster than normal, but still from the typical afternoon direction. Sunday, winds will peak behind this front east of the Cascades and this will drive gusts of 25 to 35 mph. This could have implications for fire weather, and is covered in the fire weather discussion below. Transient high pressure will build over the region Monday and Tuesday. That said, the heat risk will remain low, with overnight low temperatures remaining below 60 degrees. The next trough is expected on Wednesday and will need some close monitoring because the mid-level and upper-level jet appear stacked in many model solutions, and could bring some elevated wind speeds to the area Wednesday and Thursday. This trough also has some strong instability and lift associated with it and I would not totally rule out this having some low end thunderstorm potential. While most of these impacts will fall into the realm of fire weather, it could create less than favorable conditions for anyone working or recreating out in the mountains. After this trough, the cycle of 2-3 days of high pressure and heat, followed by another trough looks to repeat. -Miles
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&& .MFR WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... OR...CA...Red Flag Warning from noon to 8 PM PDT Sunday for CAZ285. PACIFIC COASTAL WATERS...Small Craft Advisory until 11 PM PDT Monday for PZZ356-376. Hazardous Seas Warning from 5 PM Sunday to 11 PM PDT Monday for PZZ356-376. && $$