824  
FXUS66 KMTR 201048  
AFDMTR  
 
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION  
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN FRANCISCO CA  
248 AM PST FRI DEC 20 2024  
   
..NEW SYNOPSIS, SHORT TERM, LONG TERM, MARINE  
 
   
SYNOPSIS  
 
ISSUED AT 234 AM PST FRI DEC 20 2024  
 
A PARADE OF IMPACTFUL STORMS WILL IMPACT THE REGION LATE TONIGHT  
THROUGH NEXT WEEK. LIFE-THREATENING BAY, OCEAN, AND BEACH CONDITIONS  
BEGIN SATURDAY AND LINGER THROUGH NEXT WEEK.  
 
 
   
SHORT TERM  
 
(TODAY THROUGH SUNDAY)  
ISSUED AT 234 AM PST FRI DEC 20 2024  
 
TWO SHORTWAVE TROUGHS WILL TREK ACROSS THE REGION OVER THE WEEKEND  
WITH THE FIRST SLATED FOR LATE FRIDAY NIGHT THROUGH SATURDAY AND THE  
SECOND SLATED FOR SUNDAY. BOTH SYSTEMS WILL BE COMPARABLE IN TERMS  
OF RAINFALL TOTALS WITH QPF NOT EXCEEDING 1.50" FOR EITHER OF THEM  
AND RAINFALL TOTALS TAPERING OFF SIGNIFICANTLY FROM NORTH TO SOUTH.  
SOUTHERLY WINDS WILL INCREASE AS THE SHORTWAVE TROUGHS MOVE ACROSS  
THE AREA, BUT THEY WILL REMAIN BELOW WIND ADVISORY CRITERIA. WHILE  
THESE TWO SYSTEMS ARE NOT LOOKING TO BE OVERLY IMPACTFUL IN AND OF  
THEMSELVES, THEY WILL BE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE ANTECEDENT CONDITIONS  
GOING INTO THE MORE IMPACTFUL SYSTEMS NEXT WEEK. AS SOILS APPROACH  
SATURATION IT IS MORE LIKELY THAT TREES WILL FALL, MUD AND ROCK WILL  
SLIDE, AND CREEKS AND STREAMS WILL RISE. SPC HAS HIGHLIGHTED MOST OF  
MARIN AND SONOMA COUNTIES FOR GENERAL OR NON-SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS  
BETWEEN 4 AM SATURDAY AND 4 AM SUNDAY. A HIGH SURF ADVISORY WILL GO  
INTO EFFECT AT 6 AM SATURDAY AND RUN THROUGH 4 PM SUNDAY WITH  
LIFE-THREATENING BAY, OCEAN, AND BEACH CONDITIONS LINGERING INTO  
NEXT WEEK. IF YOU WANT TO SEE LARGE BREAKING WAVES, THERE'S AN APP  
FOR THAT (SURFLINE), DO NOT GO TO THE BEACH.  
 
 
   
LONG TERM  
 
(MONDAY THROUGH THURSDAY)  
ISSUED AT 234 AM PST FRI DEC 20 2024  
 
MONDAY THROUGH THURSDAY WILL BE THE MOST CRITICAL TIME PERIOD AS  
TWO MORE SHORTWAVE TROUGHS PLOW THROUGH THE REGION, THE FIRST  
SLATED FOR MONDAY MORNING THROUGH TUESDAY MORNING AND THE SECOND  
SLATED FOR WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH THURSDAY. BOTH OF THESE  
SYSTEMS WILL BRING WIDESPREAD IMPACTFUL RAINFALL WITH RAINFALL  
TOTALS AS HIGH AS 2.50" WITH THE MONDAY-TUESDAY SYSTEM AND UP TO  
3.50" WITH THE WEDNESDAY-FRIDAY SYSTEM. WPC HAS HIGHLIGHTED MARIN,  
NAPA, AND SONOMA COUNTIES FOR A MARGINAL OR AT LEAST 5% RISK OF  
RAINFALL EXCEEDING FLASH FLOOD GUIDANCE BETWEEN 4 AM MONDAY AND 4  
AM TUESDAY. AS THE RIVERS RISE SO DO FLOODING CONCERNS WITH  
DETERMINISTIC FORECASTS SHOWING A RAPID RISE BEGINNING MONDAY  
NIGHT. THE GREATEST CHANCE FOR CONVECTION IS WITH THE MONDAY  
MORNING-TUESDAY MORNING SYSTEM WITH CHANCES FOR THUNDERSTORMS UP  
TO 20%. THERE IS UP TO A 30% CHANCE IN REACHING WIND ADVISORY  
CRITERIA (WIND GUSTS 45+ MPH) WITH THESE SYSTEMS. LIFE-THREATENING  
BAY, OCEAN, AND BEACH CONDITIONS WILL RETURN MONDAY AND CONTINUE  
THROUGH NEXT WEEK WITH A HIGH SURF WARNING LIKELY NEEDED DURING  
THIS TIME FRAME.  
 
BELOW ARE MAINSTEM FORECAST POINTS AND THE ENSEMBLE FORECAST OF  
EXCEEDING (ACTION/MONITOR STAGE), (MINOR FLOOD STAGE) BETWEEN MONDAY  
AND NEXT SUNDAY.  
 
SONOMA COUNTY:  
RUSSIAN RIVER - GUERNEVILLE (GUEC1): 39%, 34%  
RUSSIAN RIVER - HEALDSBURG (HEAC1): 11%, N/A  
 
NAPA COUNTY:  
NAPA RIVER - ST. HELENA (SHEC1): 43%, 20%  
NAPA RIVER - NAPA (APCC1): 30%, 11%  
 
SANTA CLARA COUNTY:  
GUADALUPE RIVER - SAN JOSE AT ALMADEN EXPRESSWAY (GUDC1): <2%, <2%  
 
SANTA CRUZ COUNTY:  
SAN LORENZO RIVER - BIG TREES (BTEC1): 5%, N/A  
 
MONTEREY COUNTY:  
CARMEL RIVER - ROBLES DEL RIO (RDRC1): <2%, <2%  
 
 
   
AVIATION  
 
(06Z TAFS)  
ISSUED AT 901 PM PST THU DEC 19 2024  
 
SATELLITE IMAGERY SHOWS HIGH CLOUD FLOWING OVER THE BAY AREA WITH  
THESE CLOUDS GRADUALLY COVERING THE CENTRAL COAST. UNDERNEATH  
THESE CLOUDS LURKS STRATUS AND FOG FOR AREAS IN THE NORTH AND  
EAST BAY. CONFIDENCE IS LOW FOR WIDESPREAD LIFR FOG, WITH KSTS  
LIKELY BEING THE MAIN CONTENDER. ELSEWHERE MVFR TO IFR VIS IS  
POSSIBLE IF WINDS EASE, BUT SHOULD THE NOT LOOK FOR IFR OR PERHAPS  
LIFR CEILINGS. WINDS STAY LIGHT TO MODERATE THROUGH THE TAF  
PERIOD. AS THE NEXT RAIN SYSTEM APPROACHES, WINDS ALOFT INCREASE  
LEADING TO LLWS CONCERNS INTO FRIDAY NIGHT, WITH LIGHT RAIN  
FOLLOWING. IT'S TOO EARLY, DUE TO CONFIDENCE BEING TOO LOW, TO  
ADD THUNDER TO THE TAFS, BUT WE'LL NEED TO BE MINDFUL OF THAT FOR  
AT LEAST OUR NORTH BAY COUNTIES.  
 
VICINITY OF SFO...VRF SHOULD LAST THROUGH THE LATE NIGHT BEFORE  
MIST AND FOG BEGIN TO AFFECT THE SF BAY. MIST/FOG FILLS OVER SFO  
INTO EARLY FRIDAY AND LASTS THROUGH THE LATE MORNING. WINDS STAY  
LIGHT AND VARIABLE UNTIL FRIDAY AFTERNOON, BEFORE MORE MODERATE  
EASTERLY WINDS ARRIVE. WINDS TURN SOUTHERLY INTO THAT NIGHT AS  
SHOWERS APPROACH, WITH SOME CONCERNS FOR LLWS AS STRONG  
SOUTHEASTERLY WINDS DEVELOP ALOFT.  
 
SFO BRIDGE APPROACH...SIMILAR TO SFO.  
 
MONTEREY BAY TERMINALS...VFR CONDITIONS LASTS INTO THE EARLY  
MORNING HOURS, WITH LOWERING CEILINGS BEING POSSIBLE NEAR  
DAYBREAK. MOST GUIDANCE SUGGEST MVFR CIGS WITH THIS AND THE  
CLEARING OUT BY THE AFTERNOON, BUT THERE IS A SMALL CHANCE WE  
COULD GO IFR. CONFIDENCE IS TOO LOW TO ADD IT BUT SOME MODELS HAVE  
HINTED AT IT. IN TERMS OF WINDS, AROUND MRY THEY STAY LIGHT AND  
VARIABLE THROUGH THE TAF PERIOD. WINDS FOR SNS STAY RELATIVELY  
LIGHT UNTIL SOUTHEASTERLY DRAINAGE WINDS BUILD OVERNIGHT.  
 
 
   
MARINE  
 
(TODAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY)  
ISSUED AT 234 AM PST FRI DEC 20 2024  
 
DRY WEATHER CONTINUES THROUGH FRIDAY BEFORE AN ACTIVE WEATHER  
PATTERN DEVELOPS ACROSS THE PACIFIC BRINGING RAIN AND GUSTY WINDS  
THIS WEEKEND AND AGAIN EARLY NEXT WEEK. GALE FORCE GUSTS COULD BE  
POSSIBLE ACROSS THE NORTHERN WATERS ON SATURDAY. WAVE HEIGHTS  
WILL REMAIN ELEVATED THROUGH LATE NEXT WEEK WITH 15 TO 20 FEET  
WAVES MONDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY. PERSISTENT DANGEROUS CONDITIONS  
FOR SMALL CRAFTS ARE EXPECTED FRIDAY INTO NEXT WEEK.  
 
 
   
BEACHES  
 
ISSUED AT 132 PM PST THU DEC 19 2024  
 
A BEACH HAZARDS STATEMENT REMAINS IN EFFECT THROUGH 6 PM TODAY  
FROM SONOMA COUNTY TO MONTEREY COUNTY. MODERATE TO LONG PERIOD  
NORTHWESTERLY SWELL WILL RESULT IN ELEVATED SNEAKER WAVES WITH  
SNEAKER WAVES LIKELY TO BREAK BETWEEN 10 AND 13 FEET. THE  
COMBINATION OF ELEVATED SNEAKER WAVE THREAT AND RIP CURRENTS BOTH  
POSE A RISK TO BEACHGOERS WHO ARE CAUGHT UNAWARE. VISITORS TO THE  
COAST ARE ADVISED TO TAKE EXTRA CARE AND NEVER TURN THEIR BACKS TO  
THE OCEAN AS SNEAKER WAVES MAY SWEEP UNAWARE BEACHGOERS INTO THE  
OCEAN.  
 
A SECOND PERIOD OF DANGEROUS, ELEVATED SURF OF 15 TO 18 FEET, WITH  
OCCASIONAL BREAKERS UP TO 20 FEET, WILL OCCUR SATURDAY MORNING TO  
SUNDAY AFTERNOON AS ANOTHER SYSTEM APPROACHES THE WEST COAST,  
WITH A HIGH SURF ADVISORY NEWLY ISSUED FOR THE PACIFIC COAST FROM  
6 AM SATURDAY THROUGH 4 PM SUNDAY.  
 
THEN, A VERY LARGE AND POWERFUL, LONG PERIOD WEST SWELL TRAIN WILL  
LIKELY ARRIVE ALONG OUR ENTIRE COASTLINE MONDAY INTO TUESDAY NEXT  
WEEK. CURRENT GLOBAL WAVE MODELS ARE FORECASTING SWELL HEIGHTS TO  
20+ FEET WITH VERY ENERGETIC SWELL PERIODS OF 20+ SECONDS, THIS WILL  
LEAD TO MUCH HIGHER BREAKERS INCLUDING LOCALIZED COASTAL FLOODING  
IMPACTS. STAY TUNED FOR FURTHER UPDATES.  
 
 
   
MTR WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES  
 
CA...HIGH SURF ADVISORY FROM 6 AM SATURDAY TO 4 PM PST SUNDAY FOR  
CAZ006-505-509-529-530.  
 
PZ...SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY FROM 9 AM THIS MORNING TO 3 PM PST SATURDAY  
FOR PT ARENA TO PT REYES 0-10 NM-PT ARENA TO PT REYES 10-60  
NM.  
 
SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY FROM 9 PM THIS EVENING TO 3 PM PST SATURDAY  
FOR PIGEON PT TO PT PINOS 0-10 NM-PIGEON PT TO PT PINOS 10-  
60 NM-PT REYES TO PIGEON PT 0-10 NM.  
 
SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY FROM 3 PM THIS AFTERNOON TO 3 PM PST  
SATURDAY FOR PT PINOS TO PT PIEDRAS BLANCAS 0-10 NM.  
 
 
 
 
 
SHORT TERM...SARMENT  
LONG TERM....SARMENT  
AVIATION...KR  
MARINE...RGASS  
 
VISIT US AT WWW.WEATHER.GOV/SANFRANCISCO  
 
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WWW.FACEBOOK.COM/NWSBAYAREA  
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