159  
FXUS66 KEKA 210631 CCA  
AFDEKA  
 
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION...CORRECTED  
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EUREKA CA  
1130 PM PDT MON MAY 20 2013  
   
SYNOPSIS  
MUCH COLDER AIR WILL ARRIVE FOR THE REST OF THE WEEK  
IN THE WAKE OF A COLD FRONT. AREAS ALONG THE COAST WILL NOTICE  
LITTLE DIFFERENCE IN TEMPERATURES BUT INTERIOR AREAS WILL BE 15 TO  
20 DEGREES COLDER THAN MONDAY. SHOWERS WILL BE POSSIBLE THROUGH  
THURSDAY NORTH OF CAPE MENDOCINO.  
 
   
UPDATE  
UPDATED THE MARINE GRIDS TO INCREASE WINDS IN THE  
NORTHERN OUTER WATERS. THE RUC/RAP AND THE HRR3KM SEEM TO SHOW  
GALE FORCE WINDS OVER THE NORTHERN OUTER WATERS. THIS IS A VERY  
DYNAMIC SYSTEM WITH STRONG WINDS ALOFT. OPTED TO ISSUE A GALE  
WARNING FOR THE NORTHERN OUTER WATERS STARTING TUESDAY MORNING WHEN  
THE SURFACE LOW MOVES BY JUST THE NORTH OF THE AREA. THIS SYSTEM  
WILL ALSO BRING STRONG WAVES. THE SWAN MODEL SHOWS THEM PEAKING  
AROUND 13 FT IN THE OUTER WATERS. THESE MAY SPREAD INTO THE OTHER  
WATERS...HOWEVER CURRENTLY THEY ARE JUST BELOW THE THRESHOLDS FOR  
HAZARDOUS SEAS SO HAVE ISSUED SMALL CRAFT ADVISORIES. MKK  
 
 
   
PREV DISCUSSION  
/ISSUED 407 PM PDT MON MAY 20 2013/  
 
DISCUSSION...  
IN THE NEAR-TERM LOCALIZED STRATUS BETWEEN THE KLAMATH AND EEL RIVER  
DELTA MAY TEND TO GRADUALLY INCREASE IN COVERAGE THIS EVENING AS THE  
FLOW VEERS AND BECOMES MORE DIRECTLY ONSHORE THIS EVENING. THIS WILL  
BRING INCREASING MOISTURE INTO THE LOWEST 5-10KFT OF THE ATMOSPHERE  
OVERNIGHT AS A TIGHTLY WOUND AREA OF LOW PRESSURE APPROACHES FROM  
THE NORTHWEST. WHILE THIS SYSTEM LACKS MUCH IN THE WAY OF A RETURN  
FLOW AHEAD OF IT...INCREASINGLY MOIST ONSHORE FLOW AND INSTABILITY  
WITH COLDER AIR ALOFT ARRIVING IN THE WAKE OF THE FRONT WILL BE  
ENOUGH TO KEEP SHOWERS GOING FOR MUCH OF THE TUESDAY THROUGH  
THURSDAY TIME PERIOD. IT WILL BE TRICKY TIMING INDIVIDUAL  
DISTURBANCES ROTATING AROUND THE PARENT UPPER-LOW...BUT THE BEST  
CHANCES OF SHOWERS LOOK TO BE TUESDAY MORNING...AND DURING THE DAY  
WEDNESDAY AND THURSDAY. ACTUALLY TUESDAY MORNING MAY BE MORE OF A  
PERIOD OF LIGHT RAIN AND DRIZZLE...WITH CLEARING SKIES AND WIDELY  
SCATTERED SHOWER ACTIVITY DURING THE AFTERNOON AS THE LOWER  
ATMOSPHERE BECOMES MORE UNSTABLE AND WELL-MIXED.  
 
SNOW-LEVELS WILL FALL TO AS LOW AS 2500 FEET ACROSS MUCH OF  
NORTHWEST CALIFORNIA ESPECIALLY NORTH OF MENDOCINO COUNTY. NOT MUCH  
IN THE WAY OF PRECIPITATION IS FORECAST BY THE VARIOUS MODEL  
GUIDANCE...BUT AS IS OFTEN THE CASE WITH THESE DYNAMIC SYSTEMS...THE  
MODELS ARE PROBABLY UNDERDONE. THAT SAID, WITH THE BEST SHOT AT  
SNOWFALL OCCURRING DURING THE DAYTIME AFTER A PERIOD OF WARM  
TEMPERATURES...IT WILL BE TOUGH TO SEE MUCH ACCUMULATION ON ROADWAYS  
AND THUS NO IMPACTS ARE EXPECTED TO THE MAJOR PASSES. SNOW SHOWERS  
WILL BE POSSIBLE OVER SOME OF THE 299 PASSES ESPECIALLY WEDNESDAY  
MORNING BUT EXPECT LITTLE TO NO ACCUMULATION BELOW 3500 FEET. ABOVE  
THAT...WOULD NOT BE SURPRISED TO SEE A FEW INCHES IN SPOTS.  
 
DEPENDING ON HOW SKIES CLEAR WEDNESDAY AND THURSDAY  
MORNING...FREEZING TEMPERATURES WILL BE A DISTINCT POSSIBILITY FOR  
THE INTERIOR. ISSUED A FREEZE WATCH FOR INTERIOR MENDO AND TRINITY  
FOR WEDNESDAY MORNING...BUT ACTUALLY THURSDAY MORNING LOOKS LIKE THE  
BEST SHOT AT A WIDESPREAD FREEZE. FROST ADVISORIES MAY BE NEEDED FOR  
THE NORTHCOAST INTERIOR AS WELL.  
 
LOOKS LIKE THERE WILL BE A LULL IN THE WEATHER FOR LATER THURSDAY  
THRU FRIDAY NIGHT...UNTIL ANOTHER TROUGH ARRIVES FOR THE WEEKEND.  
THIS SYSTEM DOES NOT LOOK AS MOIST OR AS DYNAMIC...BUT WITH WARMING  
LOW-LEVEL TEMPS AHEAD OF IT THERE MAY BE THUNDERSTORMS OVER THE  
INTERIOR MOUNTAINS SATURDAY AFTERNOON. AAD  
 
AVIATION...ALMOST A CLEAR NW CALIFORNIA AS OF 21Z EXCEPT FOR A FEW  
POCKETS OF STRATUS NORTH OF CAPE MENDOCINO. I EXPECT THERE IS STILL  
TIME FOR THE REMAINING STRATUS TO COMPLETELY SCOUR OUT, THOUGH,  
MODELS AND GUIDANCE HINT AT A RETURN OF COASTAL CLOUDS AFTER THE SUN  
SETS THIS EVENING. THE APPROACH OF THE UPPER LEVEL TROUGH WILL ALLOW  
CEILINGS TO EXPAND OVERNIGHT INTO THE MVFR RANGE FOR COASTAL  
AIRFIELDS TONIGHT. HIGH CLOUD COVER WILL FLOW OVER REGION BUT WILL  
OTHERWISE REMAIN VFR FOR INLAND AIRFIELDS. KML  
 
MARINE...WINDS AND SEAS WILL DECREASE OVERNIGHT AS THE PRESSURE  
GRADIENT WEAKENS DUE TO AN APPROACHING UPPER LEVEL TROUGH. HAZARDS  
WILL DROP IN THE EVENING AS CONDITIONS LIE DOWN, THOUGH, EXTENSIONS  
FOR SMALL CRAFTS MAY BE NEEDED. EITHER WAY THERE WILL BE A SHORT  
PERIOD WHERE WINDS AND SEAS WILL BRIEFLY DECREASE...VERY EARLY  
TUESDAY MORNING. WINDS WILL BEGIN INCREASING IN THE OUTER WATERS  
TUESDAY AFTERNOON AS THE UPPER LEVEL TROUGH DRAWS A TIGHTENED  
PRESSURE GRADIENT INTO THE COASTAL WATERS. HIGH PRESSURE WILL HANG  
OUT OVER THE EASTERN PACIFIC WHILE THE UPPER LEVEL TROUGH WILL  
LINGER OVER THE PACIFIC NW OVER THE NEXT FEW DAYS. THIS WILL  
MAINTAIN FRESH WINDS IN THE OUTER WATERS AND STEEP SEAS INTO THE  
MIDDLE OF THE WEEK. KML  
 
 
   
EKA WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES  
 
CA...FREEZE WATCH FROM LATE TUESDAY NIGHT THROUGH WEDNESDAY MORNING  
CAZ004-076.  
 
NORTHWEST CALIFORNIA COASTAL WATERS...SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY FROM 2 PM TUESDAY TO 2 PM PDT WEDNESDAY  
PZZ450.  
 
GALE WARNING FROM 6 AM TO 2 PM PDT TUESDAY PZZ470.  
 
SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY UNTIL 3 AM PDT TUESDAY PZZ455-475.  
 
 
 
 
 
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