Area Forecast Discussion
Issued by NWS Los Angeles, CA
Issued by NWS Los Angeles, CA
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751 FXUS66 KLOX 120544 AFDLOX Area Forecast Discussion...UPDATED National Weather Service Los Angeles/Oxnard CA 944 PM PST Tue Nov 11 2025 .SYNOPSIS...11/652 PM. Onshore flow and increasing clouds will bring significant cooling to inland areas tomorrow A shallow marine layer will create dense fog at times at the coast tonight, with low clouds moving into the valleys by Wednesday morning. At the same time, high clouds will increase as a storm system approaches the West Coast. Rain is expected to spread over the area Wednesday night through Thursday night or Friday, and possibly into Saturday. && .SHORT TERM (TUE-FRI)...11/753 PM. ***UPDATE*** The large scale pattern shows an upper closed low about 1100 miles west of Los Angeles, forecast to merge with a large upper trough approaching from the northwest. As this feature moves closer to the coast, heights aloft will decrease and onshore flow will increase, continuing a significant cooling trend across the valleys and mountains. While the marine layer is shallow this evening, it is expected to deepen overnight with low clouds moving from coastal areas into the valleys. At the same time, high clouds will increase ahead of the approaching storm system so Wednesday will be cloudy in the morning with only partial clearing in the afternoon. High temperatures will be in the 60s and 70s. Rain is forecast to begin moving into NW San Luis Obispo County late Wednesday night, with the timing shifted back somewhat from previous forecasts. ***From Previous Discussion*** Models made a significant shift in the upper level pattern later this week creating increasing uncertainty with the timing and overall details of the storm, especially with the later Fri/Sat period. Confidence is still high that the initial round of rain will arrive Thursday into Friday morning, though the timing has moved forward 5-10 hours from the previous forecast and there is a possibility of additional timing adjustments as the models recalibrate based on how storm evolves. The arrival of hi res models Wednesday will help as well. This first burst of rain still looks to be the strongest with widespread rain rates between a quarter and half inch per hour and locally as much as 0.75/hr. Orographics will play a big role with upslope areas getting 2-3 times the amounts at sea level. This will be particularly pronounced across southern Santa Barbara County where up to 4 inches or locally higher are possible in the mountains. There is 10-20% chance of thunderstorms across the area as well. No snow expected with this system except possibly a few inches, mostly above 8000 feet. .LONG TERM (SAT-TUE)...11/159 PM. There is very low confidence in the Saturday forecast given today`s huge pattern shift which resulted in the models cutting off the upper low about 300 miles southwest of LAX Saturday morning and then slowly moving it northeast on Sunday. If the upper low stalls far enough offshore it could lead to a continuation of steady moderate to locally heavy rain across the area Saturday (especially south of Pt Conception) and possibly even into early Sunday as the initial plume just pivots around the low rather than progressing east. If the upper low ends up not cutting off and returns to the original, more progressive pattern, there may be still be some light showers south of Pt Conception Saturday but much lighter and exiting sooner. The first (and wetter) scenario is the currently favored option in the models now but overall this is a very low confidence forecast. The rest of forecast through early next week remains similarly uncertain given the earlier issues. There are several ensemble solutions still indicating another cutoff low along the West coast with a chance of rain Monday and Tuesday. && .AVIATION...12/0533Z. At 0443Z at KLAX, there was a surface based marine inversion. The top of the inversion was near 2500 feet with a temperature of 23 degrees Celsius. High confidence in VFR conditions for KWJF and KPMD thru the forecast period. Low to moderate confidence in the 06Z TAFs for the coastal sites with IFR conds forecast. However, there is a 30% chance of LIFR conds developing between 08Z and 15Z. The chance of CIGs clearing Wed afternoon is low confidence, and timing could be off by +/- 2 hours. Low confidence in CIGs for KBUR and KVNY, with a 30% conds could be VFR or LIFR. KLAX...Low to moderate confidence in the 06Z TAF. Moderate confidence in minimum flight cat, with a 20% chance LIFR conds develop between 08Z-15Z. No significant east wind component is expected. KBUR...Low confidence in the 06Z TAF. There is a 40% chance low clouds do not affect the site, and a 30% chance of LIFR conds if low cloud do occur. && .MARINE...11/839 PM. High confidence in relatively calm winds and seas through Wednesday, except for localized Small Craft Advisory (SCA) level wind gusts to 25 knots near Point Conception and south to San Nicolas Islands this evening. In addition, patchy fog is expected tonight into Wednesday morning, with a chance for dense fog. Southwest winds 15-30 knots will develop Wednesday night across the outer waters as well as nearshore along the Central Coast. A cold front to the northwest will pass through the region Thursday and Thursday night. Gusty S to SW winds of 20-30 knots will develop across the entirety of the coastal waters then shift to NW behind the front. Lower confidence in winds Friday, as they will be highly dependent on the track of the low. Seas across the outer waters will increase to 12-14 feet, and 5-7 feet inside the Southern California Bight. From Thursday through Thursday night, the aforementioned storm system will bring a slight chance of thunderstorms across the coastal waters from the Santa Barbara Channel northward. Any thunderstorms that develop will be capable of producing frequent lightning, gusty and erratic winds, locally rough seas and even waterspouts. Moderate confidence in conditions improving some over the weekend, but SCA winds are still possible. && .LOX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... CA...NONE. PZ...NONE. && $$ PUBLIC...MW/CC AVIATION...CC MARINE...Phillips/Sirard SYNOPSIS...CMC weather.gov/losangeles Experimental Graphical Hazardous Weather Outlook at: https://www.weather.gov/erh/ghwo?wfo=lox