861  
FXUS66 KSGX 261834 CCA  
AFDSGX  
 
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION...CORRECTED  
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN DIEGO CA  
1034 AM PST FRI DEC 26 2025  
   
SYNOPSIS
 
 
A BAND OF SHOWERS WITH A SLIGHT CHANCE OF EMBEDDED THUNDERSTORMS  
WILL SLOWLY MOVE SOUTHEASTWARD ACROSS THE AREA TODAY THROUGH THIS  
EVENING. DRYING WILL DEVELOP OVER THE WEEKEND AND CONTINUE INTO  
EARLY NEXT WEEK, WITH PERIODS OF WEAK TO MODERATE STRENGTH GUSTY  
SANTA ANA WINDS FOR SUNDAY THROUGH TUESDAY. SLIGHT WARMING WILL  
ACCOMPANY THE OFFSHORE FLOW FOR MONDAY AND TUESDAY. A LOW  
PRESSURE SYSTEM FROM THE SOUTHWEST COULD BRING A RETURN OF  
PRECIPITATION FOR WEDNESDAY THROUGH FRIDAY.  
 

 
   
DISCUSSION...FOR EXTREME SOUTHWESTERN CALIFORNIA INCLUDING ORANGE
 
 
SAN DIEGO...WESTERN RIVERSIDE AND SOUTHWESTERN SAN BERNARDINO  
COUNTIES...  
 
THIS MORNING...EXTENSIVE TROUGHING OVER THE WEST COAST OF THE US,  
WITH EMBEDDED SHORTWAVE TROUGHS, WILL CONTINUE TO BRING PRECIPITATION  
TO SOCAL THROUGH TONIGHT. A BAND OF SHOWERS WITH A SLIGHT CHANCE  
OF EMBEDDED THUNDERSTORMS, ASSOCIATED WITH A FRONTAL BOUNDARY,  
WILL SLOWLY MOVE SOUTHEASTWARD ACROSS THE AREA TODAY THROUGH THIS  
EVENING. THE CONVECTIVE ELEMENTS WITHIN THE BAND ARE MOVING TO THE  
NORTHEAST AT ABOUT 28 MPH WITH THE STEERING FLOW ALOFT. THIS  
PATTERN OF FLOW WILL RESULT IN OROGRAPHIC ENHANCEMENT OF RAINFALL  
AMOUNTS ON THE COASTAL MOUNTAIN SLOPES - ESPECIALLY THE SAN  
BERNARDINO MOUNTAINS. SHOWERS COULD LINGER IN SAN DIEGO COUNTY  
OVERNIGHT AFTER THE PASSAGE OF THE FRONTAL BOUNDARY WHEN THE WINDS  
BECOME NORTHWESTERLY AND LOW LEVEL CONVERGENCE DOWNSTREAM OF  
OFFSHORE ISLANDS PRODUCES CONVECTION IN THE COLD AIR BEHIND THE  
FRONT.  
 
AS THE LOW PRESSURE TROUGH MOVES INLAND AND A HIGH PRESSURE RIDGE  
BUILDS OVER THE PAC NORTHWEST, A DRYING TREND DEVELOPS FOR THE  
WEEKEND INTO EARLY NEXT WEEK. FOR SUNDAY THROUGH TUESDAY, WEAK TO  
MODERATE OFFSHORE FLOW DEVELOPS. NORTHEAST SANTA ANA WINDS GUSTING  
TO 35-45 MPH IN AND BELOW THE MTN PASSES AND CANYONS ARE EXPECTED  
FOR SUNDAY AND MONDAY.  
 
BY MONDAY, A CLOSED UPPER LOW DEVELOPS TO OUR SOUTHWEST WHILE THE  
HIGH PRESSURE RIDGE BUILDS TO OUR NORTH. THIS WILL LIKELY BRING  
A WARMING TREND FOR SUNDAY- WEDNESDAY. TUESDAY WILL LIKELY BE THE  
WARMEST DAY WITH TEMPERATURES IN THE 70S (AS MUCH AS 5-6 DEGREES  
ABOVE AVERAGES) WEST OF THE MTNS.  
 
FOR THE MIDDLE TO THE END OF NEXT WEEK...A LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM  
FROM THE GULF OF ALASKA WILL APPROACH THE WEST COAST, DISPLACING  
THE HIGH PRESSURE RIDGE AND DRAWING THE CLOSED LOW TO OUR  
SOUTHWEST NORTHEASTWARD INTO THE MEAN FLOW OVER SOCAL. THERE ARE  
SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCES AMONG NUMERICAL MODEL SOLUTIONS WITH  
RESPECT TO HOW THIS PATTERN WILL EVOLVE BUT AN INCREASING NUMBER  
OF ENSEMBLE MEMBERS ARE INDICATING THE POSSIBILITY OF  
PRECIPITATION FOR SOCAL BETWEEN NEXT WEDNESDAY AND FRIDAY. AT THIS  
TIME, PRECIPITATION AMOUNTS ARE HIGHLY UNCERTAIN.  
 
SEE THE HYDROLOGY DISCUSSION FOR PRECIPITATION DETAILS.  
 

 
   
AVIATION
 
 
261815Z....COASTS/VALLEYS...FAIRLY WIDESPREAD MID LEVEL CLOUDS  
AROUND 5000FT MSL CURRENTLY STRETCHING FROM ORANGE COUNTY ASSOCIATED  
WITH BANDS OF LARGELY LIGHT RAINFALL ARE PRESENT WITH MORE SCATTERED  
CLOUDS AT 1500-2500FT MSL. THIS COULD WILL OCCASIONALLY BECOME BKN  
TO PROVIDE INSTANCES OF MVFR CIGS, PRIMARILY IN AREAS OF MORE  
STEADY/MODERATE RAINFALL. THE BATCHES OF RA ASSOCIATED WITH A MAIN  
BAND OF RAINFALL WILL OCCASIONALLY BRING VIS DOWN TO 2-4SM WITH ANY  
HEAVIER RAIN. THIS MAIN BAND OF RA TO LOCALLY +RA IS CURRENTLY  
DRAPED ACROSS ORANGE COUNTY INTO THE WESTERN INLAND EMPIRE, AND WILL  
SLOWLY PUSH EASTWARD INTO THE AFTERNOON, WITH RA CHANCES EVENTUALLY  
DECREASING BY 03-06Z SATURDAY. LOW/MID LEVEL CLOUD COVER LARGELY  
BECOMES FEW-SCT OVERNIGHT, BUT BECOME SCT-BKN AGAIN AROUND 15Z  
SATURDAY WITH A FEW STRAY SHOWERS ACROSS THE COASTAL AREAS 15-20Z.  
 
GUSTY SOUTHERLY WINDS UP TO 20KT ARE POSSIBLE WITH MODERATE  
UP/DOWNDRAFTS DOWNWIND OF THE SANTA ANAS INTO THE INLAND EMPIRE  
THROUGH 22-23Z.  
   
MOUNTAINS/DESERTS
 
WIDESPREAD MID LEVEL CLOUDS WITH BASES AROUND  
5000FT MSL. WINDS CONTINUE TO GRADUALLY DECREASE TODAY THOUGH  
WESTERLY-NORTHWESTERLY WINDS PERSIST FOR THE DESERT SLOPES OF THE  
MOUNTAINS INTO SATURDAY AFTERNOON. WIND GUSTS UP TO 25-30 KNOTS  
EXPECTED, LOCALLY HIGHER THROUGH MOUNTAIN PASSES, WITH MOD  
UP/DOWNDRAFTS NEAR THE MOUNTAINS.  
 

 
   
MARINE
 
 
SOUTH TO SOUTHWEST WINDS STRENGTHEN AGAIN TODAY WITH GUSTS NEAR 20  
KNOTS AT TIMES. WINDS WILL THEN TURN NORTHWEST AND GRADUALLY  
DECREASE LATE TONIGHT INTO SATURDAY. OTHERWISE, NO HAZARDOUS MARINE  
WEATHER.  
 

 
   
BEACHES
 
 
WESTERLY SWELL (250-270 DEGREES) WILL LEAD TO SURF HEIGHTS OF 5 TO 8  
FEET THROUGH SATURDAY. HIGHEST SURF IS EXPECTED FOR WEST-FACING  
BEACHES. A HIGH SURF ADVISORY IS IN EFFECT NOW THROUGH SATURDAY  
AFTERNOON.  
 

 
   
HYDROLOGY
 
 
ADDITIONAL RAINFALL THROUGH TONIGHT FOR ORANGE AND SOUTHWESTERN  
SAN BERNARDINO COUNTIES IS EXPECTED TO RANGE FROM 0.50 TO 0.75  
INCH NEAR THE COAST TO 1 TO 2 INCHES IN THE SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY  
MOUNTAINS, LOCALLY UP TO 3 INCHES ON THE COASTAL SLOPES OF THE  
EASTERN SAN GABRIEL MOUNTAINS. AMOUNTS WILL DECREASE FROM NORTH TO  
SOUTH WITH AROUND 0.25-0.35 INCH EXPECTED OVER FAR SOUTHERN SAN  
DIEGO COUNTY.  
 
BY SATURDAY MORNING, HIGH-RESOLUTION MODELS INDICATE A 50-70  
PERCENT PROBABILITY OF EXCEEDING 2 INCHES OF RAIN IN THE SAN  
BERNARDINO MOUNTAINS AND ABOUT A 20 PERCENT CHANCE IN THE SANTA  
ANA MOUNTAINS.  
 
THE SNOW LEVEL IS ABOVE 7500 FEET THIS MORNING, BUT WILL FALL TO  
AROUND 4500 FEET BY LATE TONIGHT. SNOWFALL IN THE SAN BERNARDINO  
COUNTY MOUNTAINS OF 1 TO 3 INCHES IS POSSIBLE DOWN TO AROUND 7000  
FEET WITH SNOWFALL OF 8 TO 12 INCHES ABOVE 8000 FEET.  
 
CURRENT PRECIPITATION ESTIMATES FOR NEXT WED THROUGH FRI RANGES  
FROM 0.25 INCH IN THE LOW DESERTS TO ALMOST 2 INCHES ON THE  
COASTAL MTN SLOPES AND UP TO 1.5 INCHES WEST OF THE MTNS.  
 

 
   
SKYWARN
 
 
SKYWARN ACTIVATION IS NOT REQUESTED. HOWEVER WEATHER SPOTTERS ARE  
ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SIGNIFICANT WEATHER CONDITIONS.  
 

 
   
SGX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES
 
 
CA...HIGH SURF ADVISORY UNTIL 11 AM PST SATURDAY FOR ORANGE COUNTY  
COASTAL AREAS-SAN DIEGO COUNTY COASTAL AREAS.  
 
FLOOD WATCH UNTIL 4 PM PST THIS AFTERNOON FOR APPLE AND LUCERNE  
VALLEYS-SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY MOUNTAINS-SAN BERNARDINO AND  
RIVERSIDE COUNTY VALLEYS-THE INLAND EMPIRE.  
 
PZ...NONE.  
 

 
 

 
 
PUBLIC...PG  
AVIATION/MARINE/BEACHES...MUNYAN  
 
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