


Area Forecast Discussion
Issued by NWS Eureka, CA
Issued by NWS Eureka, CA
376 FXUS66 KEKA 302118 AFDEKA AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION National Weather Service Eureka CA 218 PM PDT Sat Aug 30 2025 .SYNOPSIS...Near seasonal average temperatures will continue through the weekend. A warming trend will increase the HeatRisk and fire weather threat as low RH and hot temperatures build across the interior on Monday and then peak on Tuesday. The coast is expected to see night and morning clouds with some afternoon clearing most days. There is a slight chance of thunderstorms on Tuesday in the interior. && .DISCUSSION...The skies are plenty of sunshine across Northwest California this afternoon. Afternoon temperatures are running 2 to 5 degrees cooler across the northern portion of the forecast area compared with yesterday`s reading, while few degrees warmer across interior Mendocino and Lake counties. Breezy west to northwest winds are expected to developed through the channeled terrain, while breezy north winds over the coastal headlands. Southwesterly winds aloft will continue to push the smoke from the active wildfires in Siskiyou and Trinity counties toward northeast out of the area through the weekend. The exception will be areas north of the Peak Fire between Trinity Lake and Granite Peak. There will likely be local terrain effects that will continue to bring smoke to the valleys in all directions near the fires. This will be especially true if the fire is burning below the inversion and the smoke is trapped. For details visit weather.gov/eka and check out the area smoke forecast on the bottom of the main page. For the Labor Day (Monday), the high pressure begin to builds north into the area through Tuesday. Interior heat will build on Monday and then peak on Tuesday. High temperatures in the hottest valleys are expected to range from 95 to 105F degrees. Expect widespread Moderate HeatRisk across the interior. The heat will have impacts on some individuals sensitive to heat, especially those without effective cooling and/or adequate hydration. Coastal areas are expected to remain generally in the mid 60`s to low 70`s. A southerly reversal shortwave trough moving up the west side of the ridge Tuesday through Thursday. This is expected to draw some moisture up and bring the potential for thunderstorms over the interior. The challenge is in the details of the timing, location and how much moisture is available. The GFS has expanded the threat of thunderstorm across much the Trinity County and surrounding areas for late afternoon and evening on Tuesday, while the ECMWF limited the threat over the Sacramento Valley. Have to expanded the slight chance of thunderstorms in Trinity County for Tuesday. Coverage may be increase toward eastern Humboldt and eastern Del Norte with enough energy aloft and increasing PWAT values toward the coast, but will wait for more model runs to increase confidence. Wednesday through late in the week, the shortwave trough will continue to move northward with dry weather prevailing across the area. Clusters and operational deterministic models are trending dry for Wednesday, with drier air-mass moving over the area. Ensemble clusters are in pretty good agreement showing this pattern with around 70 percent of the members./ZVS && .AVIATION...Apart from brief LIFR impacts early this morning, all terminals remained VFR overnight. Remaining stratus has mostly moved offshore and scattered out late this morning. A trough moving through the Pacific northwest continues to support a weak marine inversion, but there are some hints of a shallow marine layer returning overnight. Offshore flow may complicate visibility impacts, but LIFR or IFR ceilings are likely if stratus does develop. UKI remains VFR today with breezy winds in the afternoon easing overnight. Smoke impacts are mostly limited to Siskiyou and northern Trinity Counties. JB && .MARINE...Northerly winds continue to increase in the lee of Cape Mendocino, with gusts up to 25-30 kts forecast near the Cape. Winds are lighter elsewhere, with gusts peaking at 5-15 kts this afternoon. Seas also remain mild, with combined seas of 1-2 ft observed on buoys. A small long-period southerly swell is filling in this morning and will persist trough the weekend. Higher seas of 4-5 ft are found south of Cape Mendocino, and these will slowly build as northerlies gradually increase. Stronger winds may reach nearshore Mendocino Sunday afternoon, with gusts peaking around 20-25 kts. By Sunday night into Monday, winds increase in the northern outer waters to 20-25 kts, but nearshore areas are likely to continue to see lighter winds. This general pattern continues into mid next week. JB && .FIRE WEATHER...Elevated fire weather conditions due to low RH and breezy westerly winds over the higher terrain in zones 277, 283 & 264 continue this weekend. Dry weather will continue through early next week, with low daytime RH mainly in the teens and poor to moderate overnight humidity recoveries in areas well away from the coast. Winds will generally be diurnally and terrain driven. However, a period of enhance afternoon winds with gusts to 25 mph is expected. A headline for elevated fire weather threat continue in the Fire Weather Forecast. Next week a warming and drying trend is expected with high temperatures forecasted to peak in the upper 90s to near 105 across the interior valleys on Tuesday. There is also a slight chance of afternoon and evening thunderstorms on Tuesday, mainly in Trinity county. && .EKA WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... CA... None. NORTHWEST CALIFORNIA COASTAL WATERS... Small Craft Advisory from 11 AM to 11 PM PDT Sunday for PZZ455. Small Craft Advisory from 5 AM Sunday to 11 PM PDT Monday for PZZ475. && $$ NOTE: The full forecast discussion is now regularly issued between 10 am/pm and 1 pm/am. Additional updates will be issued as needed. 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