textproduct: San Francisco Bay Area

KEY MESSAGES

Updated at 157 PM PDT Wed Apr 15 2026

- Seasonably warm temperatures Friday into the weekend

- Periods of gusty offshore winds, especially at higher elevations, Wednesday afternoon through early Friday morning

- Seasonably cool temperatures and beneficial rain Sunday into early next week

SHORT TERM

Issued at 157 PM PDT Wed Apr 15 2026 (This evening through Thursday)

Breezy onshore winds are expected along the coast and across the higher elevations through this evening as a deep upper level low pushes into the Pacific Northwest. A dry cold front will push through the region late this evening into Thursday morning. Not anticipating fog to develop tonight but patches of low level stratus are likely as the cold front moves through the region. Early morning cloud cover today is helping to keep our high temperatures cooler with 60s expected across the interior and 50s to 60s expected along the coast. Cooler overnight temperatures are expected Thursday morning across the North Bay where clear skies will allow for enough radiational cooling for lows to drop into the upper 30s. The rest of the Bay Area and coastal Central Coast will have patchy stratus insulation overnight which will keep lows in the 40s. Elevated terrain in the eastern Santa Clara Hills and Gabilan Range will be slightly cooler with lows in the upper 30s.

Heading into Thursday we see the return of gusty offshore winds. A deep upper level trough will shift into the Northern Rockies and progress eastwards. While not a classic inside slider, the trough is enough to generate moderate to strong northerly offshore winds across the region. These winds will be strongest across the interior North Bay Mountains, the Diablo Range, and favored mountain gaps/passes. Peak gusts will be between 35 to 45 mph with locally higher gusts possible across the highest ridgelines of the Mayacamas Mountains (bordering Lake, Yolo, and Solano Counties). Fire weather concerns remain minimal due to the recent wetting rains but any residents or anyone visiting the mountains Thursday/Friday should be prepared for gusty winds.

LONG TERM

Issued at 157 PM PDT Wed Apr 15 2026 (Thursday night through next Tuesday)

Gusty offshore winds will continue into early Friday morning before winds dissipate Friday afternoon/evening. The deep upper level trough will continue to progress eastward while a progressive high- amplitude ridge moves into the West Coast. As the ridge moves in winds will ease and warmer temperatures will return Friday and Saturday. Interior highs will reach the low to mid 70s while coastal highs stay in the 50s to 60s. The interior Central Coast remains the warmest with highs peaking in the upper 70s to low 80s with temperatures peaking on Saturday. Morning temperatures will be chilly on Friday with portions of the interior Central Coast dropping into the low to mid 30s (vicinity of Bradley and Parkfield).

Unsettled weather returns late Sunday into early next week as a deep upper level trough pushes into the West Coast. This trough will move down from the Gulf of Alaska and is associated with a surface low pressure system moving into Northern California. Cold frontal passage is expected to occur Sunday into Monday with widespread rain across the region. Rainfall is expected to be beneficial with 1-2" across the coastal mountains and half an inch to an inch across the lower elevations. There is a slight (10-15%) chance of thunderstorms Sunday and Monday afternoons. Temperatures look to be seasonable to seasonably cool in the 50s to 60s Monday/Tuesday. Cluster guidance is in good agreement that a trough will develop but there is still some uncertainty as to when the trough will arrive/how fast it will progress eastwards. It is possible that this system will continue to slow down and the rain window will shift more Monday-Wednesday than Sunday-Tuesday (as it is in the current forecast). No real wind concerns with this upcoming system. Conditions will get breezier Sunday into Monday across the higher terrain, along the coast, and across mountain gaps/passes but it will stay below wind advisory criteria.

AVIATION

(18Z TAFS) Issued at 1059 AM PDT Wed Apr 15 2026

AM clouds/fog have given way to mostly VFR for 18Z tafs. Some coastal strato-cu will occasionally impacts HAF and MRY. A weak boundary will sweep through this evening/early tonight bring a return of brief MVFR CIGS from approx 03Z-08Z depending on terminal. Behind the boundary offshore flow and drier air rush in kicking LL moisture out with VFR returning. Moderate wind speeds are expected at all TAF sites mentioned above throughout the day and night with some experiencing strong gusts. Winds are expected to decrease slightly by tomorrow morning before increasing again.

Vicinity of SFO...VFR with a few CU hugging the hills to the west. Probabilistic guidance brings frontal CIGS to the San Bruno gap close to 03Z and then over the terminal by 05-06Z. Once the boundary goes through drier air erodes MVFR cigs by 09-10Z

SFO Bridge Approach...CIGS arrival and clear tonight will be 30-60 min after terminal.

Monterey Bay Terminals... Around 03-04z tonight, lower CIGs will make their way through MRY, and SNS resulting in MVFR conditions. These low clouds will eventually dissipate out by early to mid- morning tomorrow and conditions will shift back to VFR, except at MRY where they will stick around through the end of the TAF period.

MARINE

(Today through Monday) Issued at 353 AM PDT Wed Apr 15 2026

Fresh northwest breezes and moderate seas will continue over the coastal waters through today. A mostly dry cold front will push through tonight followed by gusty northwesterly winds Thursday. These winds will build rough seas of 10-12 feet across the exposed coastal waters. Winds will ease back to moderate northwest breezes Friday through Saturday, allowing seas to gradually subside.

MTR WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES

CA...None. PZ...Small Craft Advisory from 3 PM to 9 PM PDT Thursday for Mry Bay.

Small Craft Advisory from 9 PM this evening to 9 PM PDT Thursday for Pigeon Pt to Pt Pinos 0-10 nm-Pt Arena to Pt Reyes 0-10 nm.

Small Craft Advisory until 9 PM PDT Thursday for Pt Reyes to Pigeon Pt 0-10 nm.

Small Craft Advisory until 3 AM PDT Friday for Pt Pinos to Pt Piedras Blancas 0-10 nm.

Small Craft Advisory from 9 PM this evening to 3 AM PDT Friday for Pt Arena to Pt Reyes 10-60 NM.

Small Craft Advisory from 3 AM Thursday to 3 AM PDT Friday for Pigeon Pt to Pt Pinos 10-60 NM.