Area Forecast Discussion
Issued by NWS San Diego, CA

Current Version |  Previous Version |  Text Only |  Print | Product List |  Glossary Off
Versions: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28
-- Highlight Changed Discussion --
-- Discussion containing changed information from previous version are highlighted. --
729 FXUS66 KSGX 050953 AFDSGX Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service San Diego CA 253 AM PDT Sun May 5 2024 .SYNOPSIS...
-- Changed Discussion --
A period of mostly light rain will move through the region through the late morning followed by a mostly cloudy cool day and a chilly night with gradual clearing. Gusty winds will continue especially in the mountains and deserts through this evening. Dry weather with slow warming will prevail most of next week.
-- End Changed Discussion --
&& .DISCUSSION...
-- Changed Discussion --
FOR EXTREME SOUTHWESTERN CALIFORNIA INCLUDING ORANGE... SAN DIEGO...WESTERN RIVERSIDE AND SOUTHWESTERN SAN BERNARDINO COUNTIES... .SHORT TERM (Today-Tuesday)... Scattered light showers have developed across portions of the forecast area this morning. So far rainfall totals have mostly been less than one-tenth inch for the coasts and valleys, and a few stations in the San Bernardino Mountains have already picked up over one-third inch. The band of showers will gradually shift south and east through the morning as the cold front moves through. Rainfall totals remain relatively unchanged - around 0.05-0.25" from the coasts to the foothills and 0.25-0.50" in the mountains with isolated amounts near 0.75" on the south slopes of the San Bernardino Mountains. Little if any accumulation is expected in the deserts. A light dusting of snow is possible above 7000 ft. Gusty west winds will continue in the mountains and deserts this afternoon with strongest gusts around 40-50 mph, diminishing tonight. Once the front moves through, the remainder of the day will be partly cloudy and cool. Highs will be a solid 15-20 degrees below normal inland with the greatest departure in the mountains and high desert. This means highs in the 60s for the coastal areas and valleys, 40s in the mountains, upper 50s to low 60s in the high desert, and mid to upper 70s in the low deserts. The upper level low moves out on Monday with drier northwest flow into Tuesday. Monday will be significantly warmer, followed by minor warming on Tuesday, though still a few couple degrees below normal. Breezy west winds develop in the mountains and deserts each afternoon into late night, though are forecast to remain below advisory strength. Some patchy marine layer low clouds will develop along the coast each night, especially on Tuesday with the development of a coastal eddy. The marine inversion will be fairly weak though, so expect decent clearing each day even at the coast.
-- End Changed Discussion --
&& .LONG TERM (Wednesday-Saturday)...
-- Changed Discussion --
Minor warming continues into Wednesday as we remain under weak cyclonic flow wedged between the upper ridge off the West Coast and a large upper low over the northern Great Plains. Both deterministic and ensemble models are coming into better agreement with the evolution of this pattern into the latter half of the week. A positively-tilted short wave on the back side of this low will amplify late Wednesday, eventually splitting from the parent low and retrograding southwestward into Thursday and Friday. There is the potential for weak offshore flow Wednesday morning as the short wave drives south and surface high pressure begins to build over the Great Basin. There are still differences in the placement and strength of the low late in the week, resulting in increasing spread in the temperature forecast. Since models have trended to the further west solution, forecast now has temperatures remaining fairly steady/not as warm for the latter half of the week. Marine layer low clouds will continue for the coastal areas and portions of the valleys each night and morning, potentially deepening and spreading further inland next weekend if the upper low continues to drift west or southwest as some ensemble members and the deterministic models suggest.
-- End Changed Discussion --
&& .AVIATION...
-- Changed Discussion --
050930Z...Coasts/Valleys/Foothills...Low clouds cover the region west of the mtns this morning, with bases in one layer SCT-BKN 1500- 2500 FT MSL, and another BKN-OVC 2500-4000 FT MSL. VIS reduced to 1- 3SM where low clouds and terrain intersect, obscuring higher terrain. Scattered -SHRA will move across the region from northwest to southeast through 21Z. Briefly lower CIGs and slightly reduced VIS down to as low as 3SM in -SHRA. Gradually clearing after 18-20z. Mountains/Deserts...Strong W-SW winds will continue to weaken this morning, then decreasing through the rest of the night. Expect another round of strong W-SW winds 20-35 kt with gusts of 45-60 kt after 18Z. Areas of MOD-STG up/downdrafts and LLWS over/east of mtns. SCT-BKN clouds at/abv 10000 ft MSL through this evening.
-- End Changed Discussion --
&& .MARINE...
-- Changed Discussion --
Northwest winds gusting 25 to 30 knots will continue through into this evening, which will generate hazardous boating conditions, especially in the outer waters. Northwest winds gusting up to 20 knots will be possible over the outer waters each afternoon and evening for Monday through the middle of next week.
-- End Changed Discussion --
&& .SKYWARN... Skywarn activation is not requested. However weather spotters are encouraged to report significant weather conditions. && .SGX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
-- Changed Discussion --
CA...Wind Advisory until 8 PM PDT this evening for Apple and Lucerne Valleys-Coachella Valley-Riverside County Mountains-San Bernardino County Mountains-San Diego County Deserts-San Diego County Mountains-San Gorgonio Pass Near Banning. PZ...Small Craft Advisory until 10 PM PDT this evening for Coastal Waters from San Mateo Point to the Mexican Border and out to 30 nm. Small Craft Advisory until 3 AM PDT Monday for Waters from San Mateo Point to the Mexican Border Extending 30 to 60 nm out including San Clemente Island.
-- End Changed Discussion --
&& $$ PUBLIC...SS AVIATION/MARINE...PG