546
FXUS66 KEKA 262205
AFDEKA
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EUREKA CA
205 PM PST MON JAN 26 2026
SYNOPSIS
DRY CONDITIONS WILL CONTINUE ACROSS THE AREA TODAY. A
FRONTAL BOUNDARY WILL GENERATE STRONG AND GUSTY SOUTH WINDS LATE
TONIGHT THROUGH TUESDAY AFTERNOON FOR MOSTLY THE COASTAL HEADLANDS
AND HIGHER TERRAIN OF HUMBOLDT AND DEL NORTE COUNTIES. LIGHT TO
MODERATE RAIN IS FORECAST ON TUESDAY AND TUESDAY NIGHT. LINGERING
SHOWERS ARE FORECAST FOR WEDNESDAY. RAIN CHANCES RETURN FRIDAY THROUGH
THE WEEKEND AS ANOTHER FRONTAL SYSTEM APPROACHES FROM THE WEST.
DISCUSSION
HIGH PRESSURE WILL REMAIN OVER THE AREA THROUGH
TONIGHT MAINTAINING DRY WEATHER. SOUTHERLY WINDS WILL INCREASE
TONIGHT, RESULTING IN GREATER MIXING AND WARMING FOR MOSTLY THE
HIGHER TERRAIN. RAIN WILL FINALLY RETURN ON TUESDAY AS A DECAYING
FRONTAL SYSTEM AND SHORTWAVE TROUGH MOVES INTO THE LARGE SCALE
BLOCKING RIDGE. RAIN AMOUNTS WILL NOT BE VERY MUCH BY LATE JANUARY
AVERAGES, BUT WET WEATHER WILL HAVE IMPACTS ON OUTDOOR PROJECTS
AND ACTIVITIES. WE POSTED A WEATHER STORY GRAPHIC TIME-LINE OF
ESTIMATED 6-HOURLY AMOUNTS BASED ON OFFICIAL WPC QPF. IN SHORT.
MOST OF THE RAIN IS EXPECTED BETWEEN 10 AM TO 10 PM TUESDAY.
HIGHER AMOUNTS OF RAIN OVER 1 INCH IS FORECAST FOR SOUTHWEST
FACING ASPECTS IN THE KING RANGE AND DEL NORTE COUNTY MOUNTAINS.
DUE TO DRY ANTECEDENT CONDITIONS AND LOW FLOWS ON THE RIVERS, NO
MAJOR IMPACTS ARE EXPECTED.
IN ADDITION, A FRONTAL BOUNDARY WILL BRING GUSTY TO STRONG SOUTHERLY
WINDS LATE TONIGHT THROUGH TUESDAY AFTERNOON. GUSTS FROM 40 TO 50
MPH ARE LIKELY OVER THE COASTAL HEADLANDS AND EXPOSED RIDGES IN
DEL NORTE AND HUMBOLDT COUNTIES. A WIND ADVISORY IS IN EFFECT
FROM 10 PM TONIGHT THROUGH 4 PM PST TUESDAY. A 50 KT 925MB SPEED
MAX IS FORECAST TO DEVELOP IN ADVANCE OF THE FRONTAL ZONE 12Z-15Z
TUESDAY WITH HIGHEST CHANCES FOR GUSTS > 45 MPH OVER THE COASTAL
HEADLANDS AND HIGHER TERRAIN BY 18Z. PEAK GUSTS MAY HOLD OFF TIL
18-21Z. TIMELINE FOR STRONGEST WIND GUST CHANCES HAS BEEN POSTED
TO OUR WEB PAGE AND SOCIAL MEDIA OUTLETS.
HIGH PRESSURE IS EXPECTED TO RETURN WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON AND THEN
DOMINATE INTO THURSDAY. OVERALL DRY WEATHER IS EXPECTED. SLIGHT
POSSIBILITY FOR LIGHT UPSLOPE PRECIP WITH A WARM FRONT THU-FRI.
GLOBAL ENSEMBLES AND WPC GUIDANCE INDICATES MORE PRECIP POSSIBLE
OVER THE WEEKEND AS ANOTHER SHORTWAVE TROUGH HEADS TOWARD PAC NW.
PROBABILITIES FOR 0.25 TO 0.50 INCHES OF RAIN IN 24 HOURS
INCREASES TO 40-60% FOR THE NORTHERN MOST COUNTIES AND 10-20% FOR
THE SOUTHERN MOST AND EASTERN MOST VALLEYS OF OUR FORECAST AREA BY
4 PM SUNDAY. STILL A GREAT DEAL OF VARIABILITY WITH THE AMOUNTS
AND TIMING, BUT OVERALL NO SIGNS FOR MAJOR IMPACTS FROM RAIN OR
SNOW AT THIS TIME.
AVIATION...18Z TAFS
WIDESPREAD VFR CONDITIONS CONTINUE. AFTERNOON
VISIBLE SATELLITE SHOWS SOME THIN HIGH LEVEL CLOUDS PUSHING IN FROM
THE NORTH, AND SOME OCEANIC STRATUS WELL OFFSHORE AND MOVING
NORTHWARD WITH THE SOUTHERLY WINDS. AN APPROACHING WEATHER SYSTEM
INCREASED SOUTHERLY WINDS TODAY, WITH A MORE SUBSTANTIAL INCREASE
AFTER 12Z TUESDAY. SURFACE WINDS AT THE COASTAL TERMINALS WILL GUST
25 TO 30 KTS AFTER 12Z TUESDAY. THERE WILL BE INCREASE THE THREAT OF
LOW LEVEL TURBULENCE AND WIND SHEAR WITH SOUTHERLY WINDS NEAR 2000
FT AGL REACHING 35 TO 45 KTS AFTER 8Z TUESDAY. STRONGER SURFACE AND
HIGHER LEVEL WINDS WILL ARRIVE NEAR 18Z TUESDAY. SOUTHERLY WINDS
NEAR 2000 FT AGL WILL LIKELY REACH 50 KTS, WITH COASTAL TERMINAL AND
OVER KNEELAND GUSTING TO 40KTS THROUGH 21Z TUESDAY. JJW
MARINE
SOUTHERLY WINDS ARE INCREASING ACROSS THE WATERS TODAY
WITH WIDESPREAD GUSTS OF 20-25 KTS ONGOING. WINDS CONTINUE TO
INCREASE TONIGHT INTO TUESDAY, WITH GALES FORECAST IN THE WATERS
AROUND CAPE MENDOCINO AND NORTHWARD. STEEP SEAS OF 10 TO 13 FT ARE
FORECAST WITH THESE WINDS OVER THE OUTER WATERS. LOCALLY HIGHER
SEAS OF UP TO 15 FT ARE POSSIBLE IN THE NORTHERN OUTER WATERS.
WINDS EASE BELOW GALE FORCE TUESDAY NIGHT AND SHORT PERIOD SEAS
WILL START TO SUBSIDE. HOWEVER, A LARGE, LONG PERIOD WESTERLY
SWELL WILL ARRIVE WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON INTO THURSDAY, BRINGING
COMBINED SEAS OF 14-16 FT. WINDS REMAIN SOUTHERLY FOR THE
REMAINDER OF THE WEEK AND ARE LIKELY TO REMAIN BREEZY NORTH OF
CAPE MENDOCINO. JB/JJW
EKA WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES
CA...
WIND ADVISORY FROM 4 AM TO 3 PM PST TUESDAY FOR CAZ101.
WIND ADVISORY FROM 1 AM TO 3 PM PST TUESDAY FOR CAZ102-105-
106.
WIND ADVISORY FROM 10 PM THIS EVENING TO 4 PM PST TUESDAY
FOR CAZ104.
NORTHWEST CALIFORNIA COASTAL WATERS...
GALE WARNING FROM 3 AM TO 3 PM PST TUESDAY FOR PZZ450-470-
475.
SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY FROM 3 AM TO 3 PM PST TUESDAY FOR
PZZ455.
SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY UNTIL 3 AM PST TUESDAY FOR PZZ470-475.
NOTE: THE FULL FORECAST DISCUSSION IS NOW REGULARLY ISSUED BETWEEN
10 AM/PM AND 1 PM/AM. ADDITIONAL UPDATES WILL BE ISSUED AS NEEDED.
VISIT US AT HTTPS://WWW.WEATHER.GOV/EUREKA
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HTTPS://WWW.FACEBOOK.COM/NWSEUREKA
HTTPS://WWW.TWITTER.COM/NWSEUREKA
FOR FORECAST ZONE INFORMATION
SEE THE FORECAST ZONE MAP ONLINE:
HTTPS://WWW.WEATHER.GOV/IMAGES/EKA/ZONEMAP.PNG
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