textproduct: Eureka

KEY MESSAGES

* Valleys and coastal areas are expected to see a chilly Saturday morning with near freezing or freezing temperatures.

* Light rain is expected Sunday evening through Monday, mainly in Humboldt and Del Norte counties.

* Coastal flooding is expected Sunday into next week at high tide, mainly around Humboldt Bay.

SYNOPSIS

Dry weather will continue through the weekend. Breezy conditions will continue to subside today with chilly conditions with near to below freezing temperatures possible early this morning and potentially into early next week. Warm and dry conditions are expected Saturday during the day. There is a chance for rain in Humboldt and Del Norte by Sunday and into early next week.

DISCUSSION

High pressure continues to build into the area drying out the region. Winds are anticipated to diminish for today. Early this morning there is the potential for areas to see widespread frost and freezing temperatures, especially in the valleys. There may be a some areas that see fog which would prevent frost. This scenario would be most likely closer to the coast. Breezy winds may also keep some valleys warmer. This may keep the Ukiah valley and southern Lake county in the upper 30s, although confidence is low on this and it will need to watched. The higher terrain is expected to see some breezy easterly winds and this will keep temperatures in the 40s. Today is expected to warm up nicely after a chilly start. Inland highs are expected to mainly be in the 70s in the valleys. Winds are generally expected to be fairly light, around 10 to 15 mph in the windier spots along the coast. Tonight and into Sunday morning is forecast to be warmer than this morning, but the wind is also expected to be lighter and the dewpoints may be lower. So frost or freezing temperatures are possible once again.

Sunday high and mid level clouds are expected to start moving in during the day ahead of a trough moving into the Pacific Northwest. Sunday late in the day or Monday this system is expected to bring some rain to the area. Amounts at this point look relatively modest ranging near 3/4 of an inch near the Oregon border to a tenth of an inch in southern Humboldt with less in areas south and east.

Tuesday through Thursday an upper level trough is expected to generally be over the west coast. This is expected to keep temperatures below normal. There may be some rain around as well, but at this point it is hard to pinpoint much significant rainfall. This will need to be watched as it gets closer. MKK

AVIATION...06Z

VFR conditions are anticipated for the terminals of Northwest California throughout the day. Offshore flow along the coast will aid in keeping any coastal stratus from developing or being too widespread. Winds along the Del Norte Coast are also anticipated to remain elevated early this morning. Clear and calm VFR conditions are forecast for most interior terminals, including KUKI.

MARINE

Gale force northerlies will continue into early this morning for the northern outer waters with widespread strong gale force winds diminishing in other zones. Hazardous, steep seas will continue for the southern outer waters until mid morning and northern inner waters until early morning. Winds will weaken and pull back from shore today with mostly calm winds in the inner waters by early afternoon. Short period seas will fall below 10 feet by mid morning and below 6 feet by the evening, even in the outer waters. Then, mostly calm to gentle north and west winds will persist Sunday through early next week with only a very minor south swell forming the sea state. /JHW

FIRE WEATHER

A much drier airmass will continue to affect the area today as an upper low exits the region. Widespread breezy offshore winds are expected over the higher terrain this early this morning. Winds will be most widespread in the higher elevations of Lake County and eastern Mendocino Counties. However, they will also be breezy on the Humboldt and Del Norte county ridges. Overnight recoveries outside the valley floors are likely to be poor given these offshore winds with maximum RHs in the 20s and 30s. While elevated to locally critical fire weather conditions are likely in the highest terrain, recent rains may limit the impact of these conditions somewhat. A few areas received little to no rainfall on Thursday. This includes much of Del Norte county as well as southern Lake county. MKK/JB

COASTAL FLOODING

High astronomical tides associated with the full moon will bring chances for coastal flooding around Humboldt Bay starting as early as Sunday with chances continuing through next week. Astronomical tides at the North Spit tide gauge reaches 7.49 ft MLLW on 11:26 AM Sunday. The northerly winds this afternoon have dropped the current tidal anomaly to around 0.8 feet. However these northerly winds are expected to diminish and Saturday before becoming southerly on Sunday. This is expected to increase the tidal anomaly once again to over 1.0 ft and possibly close to 1.5 feet again. Unfortunately this is expected to coincide with the highest astronomical tides, and highest chances for coastal flooding, are forecast to be on Tuesday and Wednesday of next week at 8.04 ft and 8.06 ft, respectively. This will likely bring at least minor coastal flooding and possibly moderate coastal flooding. This will mainly be around Humbodlt Bay with little expected outside the bay unless there are large waves. MKK/JB

EKA WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES

CA... Frost Advisory until 9 AM PDT this morning for CAZ101>106- 109-112.

Freeze Warning until 9 AM PDT this morning for CAZ108-110- 111-114-116-117.

NORTHWEST CALIFORNIA COASTAL WATERS... Hazardous Seas Warning until 3 AM PDT early this morning for PZZ450.

Small Craft Advisory until 9 AM PDT this morning for PZZ455.

Gale Warning until 3 AM PDT early this morning for PZZ470.

Hazardous Seas Warning until 11 AM PDT this morning for PZZ475.