202  
FXUS65 KPSR 272204  
AFDPSR  
 
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION  
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PHOENIX AZ  
304 PM MST THU MAR 27 2025  
   
SYNOPSIS  
 
AFTER TODAY'S MOSTLY SUNNY SKIES AND HIGH TEMPERATURES AROUND 90  
DEGREES, A ZONAL FLOW PATTERN WITH LOWER PRESSURE WILL DEVELOP.  
THIS WILL ALLOW TEMPERATURES TO FALL BACK CLOSER TO NORMAL FOR  
FRIDAY AND LIKELY LASTING THROUGH AT LEAST EARLY NEXT WEEK.  
DAYTIME BREEZY CONDITIONS ARE ALSO EXPECTED STARTING TODAY AND  
LASTING INTO AT LEAST EARLY NEXT WEEK AS DRY CONDITIONS PERSIST.  
 
 
   
DISCUSSION  
 
THE LARGE-SCALE PATTERN ACROSS THE DESERT SOUTHWEST IS ENTERING  
INTO A QUASI-ZONAL PATTERN WITH PERSISTENT WESTERLY FLOW. THIS  
PATTERN LOOKS LIKE IT WILL PERSIST THROUGH EARLY NEXT WEEK, BASED  
ON LATEST GLOBAL MODELING. BEYOND EARLY NEXT WEEK, GLOBAL MODELS  
SUPPORT THE PATTERN BECOMING MORE AMPLIFIED, BUT WITH HIGH  
UNCERTAINTY/LARGE MODEL SPREAD ACROSS THE FULL GLOBAL ENSEMBLE  
SUITE. DURING THE QUASI-ZONAL PATTERN THERE WILL AT LEAST BE  
SEVERAL LOW-AMPLITUDE SHORTWAVE TROUGHS THAT WILL ROLE THROUGH  
QUICKLY THROUGH THIS WEEKEND, WITH THE FIRST SHORTWAVE EXPECTED  
TOMORROW. THIS WILL HELP LOWER 500MB HEIGHTS AND ALLOW  
TEMPERATURES TO DROP BACK DOWN A BIT CLOSER TO NORMAL FOR THIS  
TIME OF YEAR, WITH LOWER DESERT HIGHS BACK INTO THE MIDDLE 80S  
INSTEAD OF THE 90S OF THE LAST SEVERAL DAYS.  
 
THIS QUASI-ZONAL PATTERN WILL ALSO LEAD TO SOME BREEZIER  
CONDITIONS EACH DAY ACROSS THE REGION, MOST NOTABLY ACROSS PARTS  
OF SOUTHERN CA AND NORTHERN AND EASTERN AZ. THE SHORTWAVE TROUGH  
MOVING THROUGH TOMORROW WILL LEAD TO SOME STRONGER WINDS ACROSS  
SOUTHEAST CA, WITH DOWNSLOPING WIND GUSTS UP TO 25-35 MPH THIS  
EVENING AND TOMORROW AFTERNOON AND EVENING. A WIND ADVISORY HAS  
BEEN ISSUED FOR THE FAR SOUTHWEST CORNER OF IMPERIAL COUNTY WHERE  
HREF PROBABILITY OF WIND GUSTS >40 MPH IS UP TO 100% FOR MUCH OF  
THE PERIOD FROM THIS EVENING THROUGH TOMORROW NIGHT. ELSEWHERE  
ACROSS THE LOWER DESERTS, AFTERNOON PEAK WIND GUSTS TOMORROW  
THROUGH AT LEAST EARLY NEXT WEEK WILL BE MORE AROUND 20-30 MPH.  
 
THE PATTERN THROUGH EARLY NEXT WEEK WILL NOT BE FAVORABLE FOR ANY  
PRECIPITATION CHANCES, LARGELY DUE TO A LACK OF FORCING WITH THE  
WEAK PASSING SHORTWAVES AND LIMITED MOISTURE. AT MOST THERE WILL  
BE SOME THICK HIGH CLOUDS AND HIGH LEVEL VIRGA AT TIMES.  
 
ENSEMBLE GUIDANCE STARTS TO DIVERGE CONSIDERABLY BY THE MIDDLE OF  
NEXT WEEK WITH THE EPS FAVORING A SHORTWAVE TROUGH TRACKING JUST  
PAST OUR REGION TO THE NORTH, WHILE THE GEFS MOSTLY DIGS THIS  
TROUGH JUST OFF THE WEST COAST. ADDITIONAL MODEL DIVERGENCE IS  
SEEN THEREAFTER, BUT AT LEAST BOTH MODEL ENSEMBLE SUITES TRY TO  
INDICATE A MORE SUBSTANTIAL TROUGH MOVING INTO OR NEAR OUR REGION  
BY THE FOLLOWING WEEKEND. THESE MODEL DIFFERENCES DO INTRODUCE A  
LARGER SPREAD IN FORECAST TEMPERATURES STARTING NEXT WEDNESDAY  
WITH THE UPPER END OF HIGHS AROUND 90 DEGREES TO THE LOWER END IN  
THE 70S. WE MAY EVEN SEE SOME PRECIP POTENTIAL AROUND NEXT FRIDAY  
OR SATURDAY, BUT GIVEN THE TRAJECTORY OF THE POTENTIAL WEATHER  
SYSTEM FROM THE WEST OR NORTHWEST AND THE TIME OF YEAR, WE  
SHOULDN'T EXPECT ANY WIDESPREAD PRECIPITATION.  
 
 
   
AVIATION  
UPDATED AT 1722Z.  
 
SOUTH CENTRAL ARIZONA INCLUDING KPHX, KIWA, KSDL, AND KDVT:  
 
NO AVIATION WEATHER CONCERNS ARE ANTICIPATED THROUGH THE FORECAST  
PERIOD. WINDS WILL CONTINUE TO FOLLOW TYPICAL DIURNAL TENDENCIES  
WITH OVERALL SPEEDS REMAINING AOB 8 KTS. SCT HIGH CLOUDS ARE  
STARTING TO SPREAD INTO THE METRO AND WILL CONTINUE TO DEVELOP  
INTO SCT-BKN BY TOMORROW MORNING. MAIN CLOUD DECKS SHOULD REMAIN  
AOA 15KFT.  
 
SOUTHEAST CALIFORNIA/SOUTHWEST ARIZONA INCLUDING KIPL AND KBLH:  
 
NO AVIATION WEATHER CONCERNS ARE EXPECTED THROUGH THE FORECAST  
PERIOD. AT KIPL, WINDS WILL BEGIN LIGHT AND VRB BEFORE BECOMING  
REESTABLISHED OUT OF THE W THIS AFTERNOON. GUSTS UP TO 25-30 KTS  
ARE EXPECTED TO MATERIALIZE AROUND SUNSET AND PERSIST THROUGH THE  
OVERNIGHT PERIOD. AT KBLH, WINDS WILL GENERALLY PREVAIL OUT OF THE  
S-SW, BECOMING ELEVATED WITH GUSTS REACHING 20-25 KTS AT TIMES  
DURING THE AFTERNOON. ANOTHER BATCH OF SCT-BKN HIGH CIRRUS CLOUDS  
WILL PASS OVER THE REGION THROUGHOUT THE TAF PERIOD.  
 
 
   
FIRE WEATHER  
 
INCREASED WINDS AND CONTINUED LOW HUMIDITIES WILL LIKELY CREATE A  
SOMEWHAT ELEVATED FIRE WEATHER RISK CONCERN THROUGH AT LEAST THE  
WEEKEND. LATE MORNING TO EARLY EVENING BREEZINESS WITH GUSTS  
UPWARDS OF 25 TO 30 MPH AT TIMES WILL COMBINE WITH AFTERNOON  
MINRHS AROUND 15-20% TO INCREASE THE FIRE THREAT BEGINNING TODAY.  
STRONGEST WINDS WILL BE ACROSS SOUTHEAST CA AND THE HIGHER TERRAIN  
OF SOUTHERN GILA COUNTY. THE ABOVE NORMAL TEMPERATURES WILL  
CONTINUE TODAY, BUT THEN EASE BACK CLOSER TO NORMAL STARTING  
TOMORROW. THE WEATHER PATTERN SHOULD CONTINUE TO SUPPORT DAILY  
BREEZY AND DRY CONDITIONS DURING THE FIRST HALF OF NEXT WEEK  
BEFORE SOME IMPROVEMENT IN MOISTURE LEVELS LOOKS LIKELY LATER NEXT  
WEEK.  
 
 
   
PSR WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES  
 
AZ...NONE.  
CA...WIND ADVISORY FROM 5 PM THIS AFTERNOON TO 5 AM PDT SATURDAY FOR  
CAZ562.  
 
 
 
 
 
DISCUSSION...BENEDICT/KUHLMAN  
AVIATION...SALERNO/RYAN  
FIRE WEATHER...KUHLMAN/BENEDICT  
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