Area Forecast Discussion
Issued by NWS Sacramento, CA
Issued by NWS Sacramento, CA
155 FXUS66 KSTO 261939 AFDSTO Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Sacramento CA 1239 PM PDT Mon Oct 26 2026 For additional details on weather and expected impacts over the next 7 days, please visit weather.gov/sto/briefing. .KEY MESSAGES... - Cool and dry weather through Friday - Breezy southwest winds today, strongest over the higher elevations of the southern Cascades and northern Sierra - Pattern change to unsettled weather this weekend .DISCUSSION... ...Today through Friday... Latest GOES-west visible satellite shows some low to mid level clouds over the mountains this afternoon, especially for Shasta County and the Coast Range. Temperatures are currently trending approximately 3 to 8 degrees cooler than this time yesterday across much of the forecast area. Breezy southwest winds are currently being observed over the higher elevations of the southern Cascades and Sierra Crest, with gusts of 20 to 40 mph. Winds are expected to gradually decrease as we head into this evening. The upper level pattern will feature troughing over the Pacific Northwest that will keep temperatures below normal over the next several days with a general cooling trend. Forecast high temperatures are expected to be in the 60s to low 70s in the Valley, 50s to 60s in the foothills, and 40s to 60s in the mountains. Cold morning lows are expected for the mountains and higher elevation basins the next few days, with near to below freezing temperatures. Patchy fog or haze will be possible each morning in the Valley. Dry weather will prevail over the next several days with no precipitation in the forecast until the weekend. Lighter onshore flow is expected Tuesday, with a transition to a brief period of northern flow Wednesday morning. ...This Weekend... A pattern change to unsettled weather will bring renewed precipitation chances to the forecast this weekend. Latest guidance indicates that the system has slowed and precipitation amounts have trended slightly lower. There is still some uncertainty in the track and strength of this. Best chances for precipitation are currently over the mountains south of Interstate 80. The National Blend of Models currently advertises a 30 to 50 percent probability of snow amounts greater than 2" over the higher Sierra peaks for Saturday-Sunday. Wetting rain (>0.10") probabilities for the same time frame are around 50 to 70 percent for the mountains and 15 to 30 percent for the Valley. Ensemble guidance is still hinting at the potential for unsettled weather to continue into the first week of November as well, however there is more uncertainty beyond days 6-7. Some of the cluster analysis is showing a period of ridging early next week with offshore troughing. Be sure to check back for updates and plan ahead for unsettled weather! && .AVIATION... VFR conditions are expected over the next 24 hours. Winds generally less than 12 kts everywhere. && .STO WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... None. && $$