Technical NOAA Weather Discussion

FXUS66 KMTR 240542
AFDMTR

Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service San Francisco CA
1042 PM PDT Fri Oct 23 2026

...New SHORT TERM, LONG TERM...

.KEY MESSAGES...
Updated at 1038 PM PDT Fri Oct 23 2026

 - Gusty offshore flow across the North Bay Interior Mountains
   subsides late this morning

 - Near normal temperatures this weekend into the beginning of
   next week

 - Coastal flooding due to astronomical high tides and thermal
   expansion this weekend through Thursday

&&

.SHORT TERM...
Issued at 1038 PM PDT Fri Oct 23 2026
(Today and tonight)

Gusty offshore flow across the North Bay Interior Mountains is 
ongoing tonight, with the windy and dry conditions dropping MinRH 
values in the 20s for some locations. Fire weather concerns would be 
higher for this area had we not received the recent wetting 
rainfall. The offshore flow regime should mostly limit fog 
development early this morning but still can't be ruled out entirely 
in some of the river valleys in Sonoma County.

Temperatures today will be around 5 degrees warmer than Friday and 
near normal for this time of year. The gusty winds across the North 
Bay will begin to ease by late this morning, with a beautiful day in 
store area wide across our CWA as upper level ridging builds 
overhead.

&&

.LONG TERM...
Issued at 1038 PM PDT Fri Oct 23 2026
(Sunday through next Friday)

Sunday will almost be a carbon copy of today for the North Bay and 
Bay Area, with the Central Coast seeing temperatures warm another 
few degrees. Confidence and consensus in the synoptic pattern is 
poor after Monday. An upper trough shifts south to our latitude on 
Monday bringing a return of onshore flow, however the overall 
progressive pattern is struggling with the depth of the trough and 
how another system well offshore interacts with the flattening 
trough as it moves into the Great Basin. Despite the uncertainty in 
the overall pattern, any troughing or ridging will continue to be 
progressive and low amplitude, with no large temperature fluctuations 
or precipitation chances until the end of next week when the NBM 
seems to pick up on what the current ECMWF deterministic has 
depicted for next Friday into the weekend, troughing with increasing 
rain chances.

&&

.AVIATION...
(06Z TAFS)
Issued at 827 PM PDT Fri Oct 23 2026

Surface high pressure will build into the Great Basin tonight and
Saturday morning. The WMC-SFO pressure gradient will steepen to near
10 mb while the RDD-SAC pressure gradient will steepen to around 
3 mb. Offshore winds will develop in response to these gradients, 
bringing in additional drying tonight and Saturday. Decreasing 
water vapor will allow nocturnal radiational cooling to steepen 
and residual humidity in the boundary layer from recent rain may 
cool to saturation producing patchy low clouds and fog /IFR-LIFR/
tonight and Saturday morning. Radiative cooling will also produce
cool air drainage winds to the coastline tonight and Saturday 
morning. Onshore winds closest to the coast will redevelop 
Saturday, but not until later in the afternoon. Otherwise VFR is 
forecast.

Vicinity of SFO...VFR. Northwest wind shifting to light northeast
wind by early Saturday morning. West to northwest wind near 10 knots
late Saturday afternoon and evening.

SFO Bridge Approach...Similar to SFO.

Monterey Bay Terminals...VFR. West to northwest winds 5 to 10
knots shifting to east to southeast winds 5 to 10 knots tonight
and Saturday morning. Northwest winds near 10 knots late Saturday
afternoon and early evening.

&&

.MARINE...
(Tonight through next Wednesday)
Issued at 254 PM PDT Fri Oct 23 2026

Fresh to locally strong northerly winds will continue this
afternoon and evening. Near gale force to gale force gusts remain
possible across the far northern outer waters, with strong gusts
south of Pigeon Point. Northerly winds will continue to decrease
and become moderate by Saturday morning and then prevail through
the upcoming week. Rough seas are expected today and tomorrow
across the outer waters with wave heights peaking between 10 to 13
feet. Moderate seas prevail Sunday through much of next week.

&&

.MTR WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
CA...Coastal Flood Advisory from 8 AM Saturday to 3 PM PDT Thursday 
     for CAZ006-506-508-529-530.

     Coastal Flood Advisory from 9 AM Monday to 3 PM PDT Thursday for 
     CAZ505-509.

PZ...Small Craft Advisory until 9 AM PDT Saturday for Pt Arena to Pt 
     Reyes 10-60 NM.

     Small Craft Advisory until 3 AM PDT Saturday for Pigeon Pt to Pt 
     Pinos 10-60 NM.

&&

$$

SHORT TERM...JM
LONG TERM....JM
AVIATION...Canepa
MARINE...KR

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Prepared by Boulder-Creek.com Weather at: Sat Oct 24 00:30:03 PDT 2026
From the National Weather Service