, Issued at 157 PM PDT Wed Apr 15 2026 (This evening through Thursday)
Breezy onshore winds are expected along the coast and across the higher elevations through this evening as a deep upper level low pushes into the Pacific Northwest. A dry cold front will push through the region late this evening into Thursday morning. Not anticipating fog to develop tonight but patches of low level stratus are likely as the cold front moves through the region. Early morning cloud cover today is helping to keep our high temperatures cooler with 60s expected across the interior and 50s to 60s expected along the coast. Cooler overnight temperatures are expected Thursday morning across the North Bay where clear skies will allow for enough radiational cooling for lows to drop into the upper 30s. The rest of the Bay Area and coastal Central Coast will have patchy stratus insulation overnight which will keep lows in the 40s. Elevated terrain in the eastern Santa Clara Hills and Gabilan Range will be slightly cooler with lows in the upper 30s.
Heading into Thursday we see the return of gusty offshore winds. A deep upper level trough will shift into the Northern Rockies and progress eastwards. While not a classic inside slider, the trough is enough to generate moderate to strong northerly offshore winds across the region. These winds will be strongest across the interior North Bay Mountains, the Diablo Range, and favored mountain gaps/passes. Peak gusts will be between 35 to 45 mph with locally higher gusts possible across the highest ridgelines of the Mayacamas Mountains (bordering Lake, Yolo, and Solano Counties). Fire weather concerns remain minimal due to the recent wetting rains but any residents or anyone visiting the mountains Thursday/Friday should be prepared for gusty winds.
..issued at 157 PM PDT Wed Apr 15 2026 (Thursday night through next Tuesday)
Gusty offshore winds will continue into early Friday morning before winds dissipate Friday afternoon/evening. The deep upper level trough will continue to progress eastward while a progressive high- amplitude ridge moves into the West Coast. As the ridge moves in winds will ease and warmer temperatures will return Friday and Saturday. Interior highs will reach the low to mid 70s while coastal highs stay in the 50s to 60s. The interior Central Coast remains the warmest with highs peaking in the upper 70s to low 80s with temperatures peaking on Saturday. Morning temperatures will be chilly on Friday with portions of the interior Central Coast dropping into the low to mid 30s (vicinity of Bradley and Parkfield).
Unsettled weather returns late Sunday into early next week as a deep upper level trough pushes into the West Coast. This trough will move down from the Gulf of Alaska and is associated with a surface low pressure system moving into Northern California. Cold frontal passage is expected to occur Sunday into Monday with widespread rain across the region. Rainfall is expected to be beneficial with 1-2" across the coastal mountains and half an inch to an inch across the lower elevations. There is a slight (10-15%) chance of thunderstorms Sunday and Monday afternoons. Temperatures look to be seasonable to seasonably cool in the 50s to 60s Monday/Tuesday. Cluster guidance is in good agreement that a trough will develop but there is still some uncertainty as to when the trough will arrive/how fast it will progress eastwards. It is possible that this system will continue to slow down and the rain window will shift more Monday-Wednesday than Sunday-Tuesday (as it is in the current forecast). No real wind concerns with this upcoming system. Conditions will get breezier Sunday into Monday across the higher terrain, along the coast, and across mountain gaps/passes but it will stay below wind advisory criteria.
(00z TAFS) Issued at 425 PM PDT Wed Apr 15 2026
A weak cold front is moving through northern California and will push through the Bay Area tonight. The impacts of this system will be high clouds for the first half of the TAF period, and strong winds in the second half. In the meantime, there is a good chance for another round of MVFR stratus to sneak in at many of the terminals before the ragged marine layer becomes disrupted from frontal passage late Thursday morning.
Vicinity of SFO, Strong westerly winds will continue through the evening before gradually decreasing through the late night and early morning hours. The best chance for ceilings is between 03Z and 09Z, before more unstable conditions work to mix out the clouds after the front moves through. After the skies clear, very strong westerly winds are expected Thursday afternoon and evening with gusts as high as 35 knots possible.
SFO Bridge Approach, Similar to SFO.
Monterey Bay Terminals, Since the front will take longer to reach the southern terminals, the window for MVFR stratus will last through 12-15Z before the clouds mix out.
(tonight through next Monday) Issued at 425 PM PDT Wed Apr 15 2026
A weak front will sweep through the coastal waters this evening and tonight. The passing front will bring fresh to near gale breezes to the coastal waters and bays through Thursday. These winds will build rough seas of 10-12 feet across the outer coastal waters. Winds will ease back to moderate northwest breezes Friday through Saturday, allowing seas to gradually subside.
Ca, None. PZ, Small Craft Advisory until 9 PM PDT this evening for Mry Bay.
Small Craft Advisory from 3 PM to 9 PM PDT Thursday for Mry Bay.
Small Craft Advisory from 9 PM this evening to 9 PM PDT Thursday for Pt Arena to Pt Reyes 0-10 nm.
Small Craft Advisory until 9 PM PDT Thursday for Pigeon Pt to Pt Pinos 0-10 nm-Pt Reyes to Pigeon Pt 0-10 nm.
Small Craft Advisory until 3 AM PDT Friday for Pt Pinos to Pt Piedras Blancas 0-10 nm.
Small Craft Advisory from 9 PM this evening to 3 AM PDT Friday for Pt Arena to Pt Reyes 10-60 NM.
Small Craft Advisory from 3 AM Thursday to 3 AM PDT Friday for Pigeon Pt to Pt Pinos 10-60 NM.
