492  
FXUS65 KPSR 310537  
AFDPSR  
 
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION  
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PHOENIX AZ  
1037 PM MST SUN MAR 30 2025  
   
UPDATE
 
06Z AVIATION DISCUSSION  
 

 
   
SYNOPSIS
 
 
SEASONABLY WARM TEMPERATURES WILL CONTINUE TOMORROW BEFORE  
TEMPERATURES COOL TO BELOW NORMAL FOR THE REMAINDER OF THE WORKWEEK.  
THE WEATHER SYSTEM THAT WILL BE COOLING OUR TEMPERATURES WILL ALSO  
BRING BREEZY TO LOCALLY WINDY CONDITIONS TO THE REGION. THE WINDIEST  
DAY WILL BE ON TUESDAY WITH THE HIGHEST WINDS FORECASTED TO BE IN  
SOUTHEAST CALIFORNIA AND THE HIGHER TERRAIN TO THE NORTH AND EAST OF  
PHOENIX. SLIGHT CHANCES FOR LIGHT SHOWERS EXIST ON WEDNESDAY,  
FRIDAY, AND SATURDAY, BUT THESE CHANCES ARE CONFINED TO THE HIGHER  
TERRAIN TO THE NORTH AND EAST OF PHOENIX.  
 

 
   
DISCUSSION
 
 
THIS AFTERNOON WATER VAPOR IMAGERY AND OBJECTIVE ANALYSIS SHOW THAT  
THE DESERT SOUTHWEST IS STILL UNDER ZONAL FLOW WITH A WEAK SHORTWAVE  
TROUGH IN NORTHERN ARIZONA ALONG WITH A LOW PRESSURE SITTING OFF THE  
COAST OF THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST. THE AFOREMENTIONED SHORTWAVE  
TROUGH IS LEADING TO BREEZY CONDITIONS ACROSS THE AREA ALONG WITH  
SOME UPPER LEVEL CIRRUS CLOUDS, SIMILAR TO THE WEATHER CONDITIONS  
THE PAST COUPLE OF DAYS. WINDS HAVE GUSTED UP AROUND 40-50 MPH IN  
THE FAR SW CORNER OF IMPERIAL COUNTY WHERE A WIND ADVISORY REMAINS  
IN EFFECT THROUGH EARLY WEDNESDAY MORNING. TEMPERATURES EARLY  
THIS AFTERNOON RANGE FROM THE MID 70S TO MID 80S ACROSS THE LOWER  
DESERTS AND ARE ONLY EXPECTED TO RISE A FEW MORE DEGREES BEFORE  
TOPPING OUT FOR TODAY. ZONAL FLOW ALOFT WILL CONTINUE TOMORROW,  
WHICH WILL RESULT IN VERY SIMILAR WEATHER CONDITIONS, WITH  
CONTINUED BREEZY TO LOCALLY WINDY CONDITIONS AND AFTERNOON HIGH  
TEMPERATURES FORECASTED TO BE IN THE UPPER 70S TO MID 80S.  
 
A BIG PATTERN SHIFT WILL TAKE AFFECT ON TUESDAY AS THE  
AFOREMENTIONED LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM, CURRENTLY OFF THE COAST OF THE  
PACIFIC NORTHWEST, PUSHES ONSHORE AND INTO THE DESERT SOUTHWEST.  
WITH THIS LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM MOVING INTO OUR REGION WE WILL SEE  
TEMPERATURES COOL TO AROUND 8-12 DEGREES BELOW NORMAL FOR THIS TIME  
OF YEAR. THE LOWER DESERTS ARE ONLY FORECASTED TO SEE AFTERNOON HIGH  
TEMPERATURES IN THE LOW TO MID 70S. THE BIGGER IMPACT WITH THIS  
WEATHER SYSTEM WILL BE IN THE INCREASE IN WINDS ACROSS THE REGION  
WITH WIDESPREAD BREEZY TO LOCALLY WINDY CONDITIONS. THE HIGHEST WIND  
SPEEDS ARE FORECASTED TO BE ACROSS SE CA AND THE HIGHER TERRAIN TO  
THE NORTH AND EAST OF PHOENIX. IN ADDITION TO THE WIND ADVISORY IN  
THE FAR SW CORNER OF IMPERIAL COUNTY, WIND SPEEDS WILL ALSO BE  
APPROACHING WIND ADVISORY CRITERIA IN THE HIGHER TERRAIN TO THE  
EAST OF PHOENIX AND A WIND ADVISORY MAY NEED TO BE ISSUED FOR THIS  
AREA FOR TUESDAY.  
 
THIS WEATHER SYSTEM WILL CONTINUE TO PROGRESS EASTWARD WITH THE  
LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM MOVING OVER NORTHERN AZ ON WEDNESDAY. WITH THE  
LOW OVERHEAD ON WEDNESDAY TEMPERATURES WILL COOL EVEN FURTHER  
WITH HIGH TEMPERATURES FORECASTED TO BE IN THE LOW 70S ACROSS THE  
LOWER DESERTS IN SE CA AND SW AZ AND ONLY IN THE MID TO UPPER 60S  
ACROSS SOUTH-CENTRAL AZ. IN ADDITION TO THE COOLER TEMPERATURES  
THERE WILL BE A SLIGHT CHANCE OF LIGHT RAIN SHOWERS WEDNESDAY  
AFTERNOON ACROSS THE HIGHER TERRAIN TO THE NORTH AND EAST OF  
PHOENIX. WITH THE LOW OVER NORTHERN AZ THE BEST RAIN CHANCES WILL  
BE CONFINED TO NORTHERN AZ.  
 
A WEATHER PATTERN RESEMBLING A REX BLOCK LOOKS TO SET UP FOR THE  
LATTER HALF OF THE WORKWEEK AS HIGH PRESSURE BUILDS OVER THE EASTERN  
US AND NORTHWEST US/WESTERN CANADA AND KEEPING THE TROUGH OVER THE  
SW US. THIS WILL KEEP TEMPERATURES BELOW NORMAL THROUGH AT LEAST  
SATURDAY, WITH A GRADUAL WARMING TREND WITH AFTERNOON HIGH  
TEMPERATURES WARMING BACK INTO THE MID TO UPPER 70S TO NEAR 80  
DEGREES ACROSS THE LOWER DESERTS ON SATURDAY. DESPITE THE TROUGH  
OVERHEAD RAIN CHANCES, AT LEAST FOR THE LOWER DESERTS, ARE NOT GREAT  
DUE TO THE LIMITED AMOUNT OF MOISTURE. SLIGHT CHANCES FOR LIGHT  
RAINFALL EXIST ON FRIDAY AND SATURDAY FOR THE HIGHER TERRAIN TO THE  
NORTH AND EAST OF PHOENIX.  
 
GLOBAL ENSEMBLE GUIDANCE INDICATE THAT THE BLOCKING PATTERN WILL  
START TO BREAK UP BY THE END OF NEXT WEEKEND AND EARLY NEXT WEEK.  
THIS WILL ALLOW FOR THE LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM TO FINALLY ADVECT INTO  
THE PLAINS AND ALLOW FOR HIGH PRESSURE START TO BUILD BACK OVER THE  
REGION. THERE IS SOME DISAGREEMENT AMONG THE GLOBAL ENSEMBLES ON  
WHEN EXACTLY THE BLOCKING PATTERN WILL START TO BREAK UP, HOWEVER,  
ONCE IT DOES THAT WILL LEAD TO FURTHER WARMING AS THE RIDGE BUILDS  
BACK IN AND FURTHER PROMOTE DRY CONDITIONS. ENSEMBLES CURRENTLY SHOW  
TEMPERATURES RETURNING TO NEAR NORMAL (LOW TO MID 80S) BY NEXT  
SUNDAY.  
 

 
   
AVIATION
 
UPDATED AT 0535Z.  
 
SOUTH CENTRAL ARIZONA INCLUDING KPHX, KIWA, KSDL, AND KDVT:  
NO MAJOR AVIATION CONCERNS ARE EXPECTED DURING THE TAF PERIOD.  
WINDS WILL FOLLOW FAMILIAR DIURNAL TRENDS WITH AFTERNOON  
BREEZINESS (GUSTS ~20 KTS) COMMENCING ONCE THE TYPICAL W'RLY SHIFT  
TAKES PLACE. GUIDANCE INDICATES THAT STRONGER GUSTS (UPWARDS OF 25  
KTS) MAKE OCCUR AFTER SUNSET. HOWEVER, THE CONFIDENCE SURROUNDING  
THESE STRONGER GUSTS IS TOO LOW TO INCLUDE IN THE TAFS AT THIS  
TIME. W WINDS SHOULD CONTINUE THROUGH THE END OF THE PERIOD. SCT  
HIGH CIRRUS CLOUDS WILL BE COMMON OVER THE REGION THROUGH MONDAY  
NIGHT, WITH PERHAPS A FEW LOW CUMULUS (5-6K FT) BEING OBSERVED  
DURING THE AFTERNOON.  
 
SOUTHEAST CALIFORNIA/SOUTHWEST ARIZONA INCLUDING KIPL AND KBLH:  
BREEZY TO WINDY CONDITIONS WILL BE THE MAIN AVIATION IMPACT DURING  
THE UPCOMING TAF WINDOW. BREEZINESS HAS CALMED AT BLH AND VARIABLE  
DIRECTIONS WILL BE COMMON LATER TONIGHT BEFORE GUSTS 20-25 KTS  
PICK UP BY EARLY MONDAY AFTERNOON. AT IPL, ELEVATED WINDS 10-15  
KTS WILL PERSIST THROUGH TONIGHT, WITH OCCASIONAL GUSTS AROUND 25  
KTS THROUGH THE OVERNIGHT. MORE FREQUENT GUSTS WILL THEN TAKE OVER  
BY THE LATE MORNING, WITH HIGHER GUSTS (POTENTIALLY APPROACHING 35  
KTS) BEING OBSERVED DURING THE AFTERNOON AND EVENING HOURS. HIGH  
CIRRUS CLOUDS WILL STREAM IN OVER THE REGION OVER THE NEXT 24  
HOURS.  
 

 
   
FIRE WEATHER
 
 
SEASONAL TEMPERATURES ARE EXPECTED THROUGH TOMORROW WITH  
TEMPERATURES COOLING BELOW NORMAL BY TUESDAY AND REMAINING BELOW  
NORMAL THROUGH THE WORKWEEK. MOSTLY DRY CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED  
THROUGHOUT THE WEEK AS WELL, WITH THE EXCEPTION OF SLIGHT CHANCES  
FOR RAIN ON WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON/EVENING AND AGAIN FRIDAY AND  
SATURDAY, BUT THESE CHANCES WILL BE CONFINED TO THE HIGHER TERRAIN  
TO THE NORTH AND EAST OF PHOENIX. EACH DAY WILL GET PROGRESSIVELY  
WINDIER THROUGH TUESDAY. THE STRONGEST WINDS ARE EXPECTED ON TUESDAY  
WITH THE HIGHEST WINDS ACROSS SE CA, MAINLY IMPERIAL COUNTY, AND  
ACROSS THE HIGHER TERRAIN OF MARICOPA AND GILA COUNTIES, WHERE  
ELEVATED FIRE WEATHER CONCERNS WILL EXIST. MINIMUM RELATIVE HUMIDITY  
IS EXPECTED TO RANGE FROM 15-25% MOST AFTERNOONS THROUGH THE WEEK,  
AND OVERNIGHT RECOVERIES WILL BE FAIR AND GENERALLY AROUND 40-60%.  
 

 
   
PSR WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES
 
 
AZ...NONE.  
CA...WIND ADVISORY UNTIL 2 AM PDT WEDNESDAY FOR CAZ562.  
 

 
 

 
 
DISCUSSION...BERISLAVICH  
AVIATION...RW  
FIRE WEATHER...BERISLAVICH/WHITTOCK  
 
CLICK HERE TO GO TO PREVIOUS BULLETINS.

The Nexlab AZ Page
The Nexlab CA Page Main Text Page