textproduct: San Francisco Bay Area

KEY MESSAGES

Updated at 1148 PM PDT Tue Aug 4 2026

- Elevated fire weather threat across the interior North and East Bays, and the Diablo and Santa Lucia ranges through midweek.

- Widespread Moderate HeatRisk returns for the end of the work week.

- Critical fire weather conditions develop Friday and Saturday.

LONG TERM

Issued at 1148 PM PDT Tue Aug 4 2026 (Thursday night through next Tuesday)

The ridge starts to build back into the region on Thursday, which will compress the marine layer to perhaps 500ft for the next few days. At the surface, winds will have shifted from the south to a more north/northwesterly flow; however, aloft, guidance shows the southerly flow holding. Deterministic models and ensembles show a slug on moisture pushing into our region Thurday-Saturday giving us PWATs ranging from 0.75-1.0, which could lead to things feeling humid. In terms of the heat portion of the forecast, it looks to be on track. Data continues to signal 850mb temps in the 28-30C range, leading to toastier daytime and overnight temperatures. Highs, especially for interior areas and those not affected by the marine layer, will be in the 90s to low 100s while low temperatures there fall into the upper 60s-70s. Widespread Moderate HeatRisk is expected, with some pockets of Major HeatRisk on Saturday.

Sunday and Monday, the upper level pattern shows the ridge flattening some. The latest NBM seems to keep temperatures a tad warmer on Sunday, with the more notable interior cooling trend occuring on Monday and Tuesday.

AVIATION

(06Z TAFS) Issued at 1012 PM PDT Tue Aug 4 2026

Stratus has begun a somewhat triumphant return inland after sunset tonight. Monterey Bay will soon be IFR/LIFR for the remainder of the night into Wednesday morning. North Bay, Bay Area and South Bay terminals are VFR for the moment but should follow suit by midnight except for South Bay sites, which will take longer, closer to sunrise. A more organized marine layer around 1000ft maybe as high as 1500ft for some spots, is spilling over the terrain into the North Bay attm. A surface trough enhanced by thermal troughing this afternoon and evening continues to pull stratus farther inland through the Golden Gate into the bays, with more of the same farther south into Monterey Bay.

Vicinity of SFO...Similar to SFO.

SFO Bridge Approach...Currently VFR, and while the stratus continues to fill in through the Golden Gate, it will take more time to fill in around KSFO, considering it has already begun surrounding KOAK. An offshore meso- low (Otter Eddy) will linger up and down the coast north of the Golden Gate tonight and tomorrow, which will result in light and variable winds at times, occasionally more established from the south and west. A decent thermal inversion (H85 25-27C through the morning) and gradual increase surface pressure under the inversion may trap the stratus a little longer than guidance is suggesting.

Monterey Bay Terminals...Expecting IFR/LIFR through the remainder of the night with a more normal diurnal lifting to VFR than farther north, by early afternoon. The window for VFR may only be 4-5hrs long with stratus expected to return well before sunset early Wednesday evening.

MARINE

(Tonight through next Monday) Issued at 1012 PM PDT Tue Aug 4 2026

Light and gentle breezes will continue over the outer and coastal waters through the work week along with seas between 4-8ft. Winds will begin to increase again out of the northwest going into the weekend with building seas and hazardous conditions for small craft returning.

FIRE WEATHER

Issued at 155 PM PDT Tue Aug 4 2026

After coordinating with neighboring offices and fire partners fire weather concerns over the next 5 to 7 days remain with elevated to near critical conditions.

Temperatures remain around 10-15 degrees above normal across the interior with the exception of Wednesday and Thursday where temperatures are more seasonal. High temperatures largely remain in the upper 80s to 90s with the warmest locations reaching the low 100s. Daytime humidity retention remains poor across the interior (15-30%) with humidity values dropping into the 10s across the interior Central Coast, East Bay Hills/Valleys, and the higher elevations. Portions of the interior Central Coast may see daytime humidity values drop into the single digits Tuesday, then again towards the end of the week into the weekend. Overnight RH recovery remains poor at locations above 2,000 feet with values between 25 to 40% expected with some favored locations struggling to reach even 25%. This will be particularly true across the Mayacamas, highest peaks of the East Bay Hills, the Diablo Range, the Santa Cruz Mountains, the Santa Lucia and Gabilan Ranges. Nocturnal drying (rapid decrease in RH through the pre- dawn hours) may also transpire which will increase the burn period or time in which fire behavior may remain active. Energy Release Component (ERC) values have climbed above the 97th percentile within the Interior Central Coast and Diablo-Santa Cruz (Diablo Mountains and Santa Cruz Mountains) zones with the Mid Coast to Mendocino Zone (North Bay) to reach the 97th percentile this week. Large fires become more frequent after ERC values cross the 90th percentile with extreme burning conditions expected with ERC values above the 97th percentile. 100 hr fuels are also responding to the hot and dry conditions with values reaching critical levels across the region. Latest intel also shows Live Fuel samplings are also heading toward critical levels. The one saving grace is that we're not predicting any large wind events or offshore flow wind events during this time period. That being said, diurnally breezy onshore winds are expected along the coast, mountain gaps and passes, and along the ridgelines each afternoon/evening. Given the elevated fire weather concerns and very dry fuels, individual across the highest risk areas (interior North and East Bays, the Diablo Range, the Santa Lucia Range, and interior Central Coast) are advised to avoid activities that may spark a fire. This includes campfires/barbecues and making sure chains are secured to avoid sparks if towing anything. Fire crews are urged to exercise extra caution when executing any prescribed burns, especially where fuels, topography, and weather align.

MM/KR

MTR WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES

CA...None. PZ...None.