textproduct: Eureka

SYNOPSIS

High pressure build over the area is bringing offshore flow and generally clear skies to the area through Thursday along with night and morning valley fog. Light rain is possible mainly in Humboldt and Del Norte counties over the weekend.

DISCUSSION

High pressure over the area is bringing fairly robust offshore flow to the area tonight. East winds will bring breezy on the ridges both Wednesday and Thursday mornings. These are expected to be the strongest Wednesday morning. Gusts to 30 to 35 mph are possible on some of the higher peaks, especially in eastern Lake county. These may mix down to some of the northeast to southwest oriented valleys. This is expected to limit fog development and may allow frost to form in the some of the valleys that haven't frozen yet. So have issued a frost advisory for a number of these areas. It is still possible low clouds will be more widespread than expected, but for now it looks like frost is likely. Wednesday another dry day is expected. Any valleys that do fog up will likely be slow to clear out and warm up during the day. Wednesday night into Thursday morning is expected to see lighter winds aloft, but they air is expected to be drier. This would make it likely to be slightly colder Thursday morning.

Thursday night into Friday morning a shortwave coming over the ridge is expected to start bringing more cloudiness to the area. This will likely keep temperatures warmer. It is possible this could bring some drizzle to the northern coastal areas, but confidence is low on this. Friday afternoon looks like the first chance for some light rain and this may continue through the weekend. The big question is how far south this rain will come. The current forecast keeps most of it in Del Norte county with less than a quarter of an inch in northern Humboldt county. Del Norte count may see over a half inch. However this is a small system and a slight shift farther north or south could really change the rainfall totals. This is highlight in the 75th and 25th percentiles from the NBM. The 25th percentile for Crescent City shows 0.2 inches while the 75th percentile shows 1.1 inches. In Eureka and much of Humboldt and Trinity counties those amounts range from 0.00 to 0.5 inches. Farther south and east in southern Trinity, Mendocino and Lake counties even the high ends amounts are less than a quarter inch. Even if the heavier amounts make it farther south, there aren't expected to be many impacts. MKK

AVIATION

High pressure and offshore flow are bringing VFR conditions to the area this afternoon. These are expected to continue tonight along the coast and some of the inland valleys. There will be some stronger northeast winds aloft as well. This will help limit some of the valley fog tonight, especially in the northeast to southwest oriented valleys. This may also bring some low level wind shear or turbulence. 20 to 30 kt of northeast wind are expected down to a few thousand feet above the surface. Any fog that does form tonight should clear out by mid to late morning Wednesday. MKK

COASTAL FLOODING

High astronomical tides are predicted from through Sunday for Northwest California. Water levels remain nearly a have a foot above astronomical tides inside Humboldt Bay and this may cause minor flooding starting Wednesday so have issued a coastal flood advisory for Humboldt Bay. The tides continue to get higher over the next several days and additional flooding is expected around Humbodlt Bay. Outside of Humboldt Bay the tide gauges are showing a slight negative anomaly and the swell continues to diminish. At this point we aren't expecting coastal flooding outside of Humboldt Bay, but this will need to be watched as it gets closer. MKK

EKA WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES

CA... Beach Hazards Statement until 3 PM PST this afternoon for CAZ101-103-104-109.

Frost Advisory from midnight tonight to 9 AM PST Wednesday for CAZ103>106-109-112-113.

NORTHWEST CALIFORNIA COASTAL WATERS... Small Craft Advisory until 10 AM PST Wednesday for PZZ450.

Small Craft Advisory from 4 PM this afternoon to 10 AM PST Wednesday for PZZ455.

Small Craft Advisory until 4 PM PST this afternoon for PZZ470-475.

Gale Warning from 4 PM this afternoon to 8 AM PST Wednesday for PZZ470-475.