Swell Matrix

Area Forecast Discussion

National Weather Service Los Angeles/Oxnard Ca

515 pm PDT Tue may 12 2026

Synopsis

12/1256 PM.

Several degrees of cooling are expected through Wednesday as an upper low moves through northern California. Low clouds and fog will move into the coastal valleys with clouds lingering at some coastal areas through today. Gusty winds are expected times across the mountains and deserts. Slight warming is expected Thursday into Friday.

Short Term

(tdy-Fri), 12/1256 PM.

The marine layer has deepened significantly since yesterday, accounting for nearly all of the cooling trends over this time especially for coastal valleys. Low clouds will likely stick around most of the day for many areas west of the mountains thanks to strong onshore flow and strong inversion. Isolated mid level clouds have started to develop over some interior mountains. This is evidence of the weak moisture intrusion from the southeast that will support about a 5 percent chance of a shower or thunderstorm to interior mountains and valleys, especially northern Ventura into northeast Santa Barbara Counties. Dry lightning fire starts and gusty winds would be the greatest concern if a thunderstorm were to form.

A weak trough passing overhead will boost the marine layer another 1000 feet or so to 3000-4000 feet into Wednesday. Sending the cooling trends experienced today further inland with temperatures near normal for this time of year. The additional deepening may support spotty drizzle especially into foothill to lower mountain locals. One more day of slow to no clearing of low clouds is likely Wednesday, especially into the coastal slopes as a reverse clearing (clearing at the coast before the valleys/foothills) day is possible.

Breezy northwest to southwest winds will is expected afternoon to evening, possibly boosting to near advisory levels for areas prone to northwest winds (southwest Santa Barbara County & I-5 corridor in the mountains) Wednesday evening and again as early as Friday afternoon.

Weak ridging building into the region will likely shrink the marine layer closer to the coast and lead to warming trends Thursday and Friday, but no where near the heat we saw just yesterday.

Long Term

(Sat-Tue), 12/1256 PM.

Below normal confidence this weekend into early next week as a sharp trough (for May) is poised to pass nearby. An inland track (50 percent chance) would lead to near normal temperatures with breezy winds nearing advisory levels for some interior areas such as the mountains near the I-5 corridor and southwest Santa Barbara County into Saturday or Sunday with the potential for offshore winds with decent warming and drying trends into Monday. A close pass (30 percent chance) would lead to gusty and probably advisory northerly winds for the interior and mostly below normal temperatures.

Aviation

13/0014z.

At 00Z at KLAX, the marine layer was 2900 ft deep. The top of the inversion was at 5600 ft with a temperature of 19 Celsius.

High confidence in VFR conditions at KPMD & KWJF through at least Tuesday. Moderate confidence that the current gusty winds will improve by 04Z but will remain steady through the night.

High confidence in ceilings at all other airports tonight into Tuesday, with MVFR most common. Brief IFR ceilings are possible almost everywhere 10-15Z.

KLAX, Moderate confidence through 18Z Tuesday in ceiling category and timing (plus or minus 3 hours). Low confidence on timing of any clearing. High confidence in any east winds staying under 8 knots.

KBUR, Moderate confidence in ceiling category and timing (plus or minus 3 hours). High confidence in any east winds staying under 8 knots.

Marine

12/148 PM.

Winds and seas will remain below Small Craft Advisory (SCA) levels through Wednesday morning.

SCA conditions (winds and seas) are expected to develop across the northern Outer Waters Wednesday afternoon, expanding in coverage to include all Outer Waters by Wednesday night.

These hazardous conditions will persist into the weekend reaching portions of inner waters (along the Central Coast and SB Channel) at times.

GALE Force winds will be possible across the outer waters as early as Thursday afternoon, with highest (30-50 percent) chances on Saturday into Sunday.

Seas will continue to build into the weekend peaking 10-15 ft across the outer waters.

(For this weekend)

The combination of high winds and seas could result in hazardous surfing conditions and minor coastal flooding especially across more unprotected west-facing beaches such as along the Ventura coastline. Stay tuned for future updates.

Watches, Warnings, Advisories

Ca, Wind Advisory in effect until 10 PM PDT this evening for zones 381-383. (See LAXNPWLOX). PZ, Small Craft Advisory in effect from 3 PM to 9 PM PDT Wednesday for zone 645. (See LAXMWWLOX). Small Craft Advisory in effect from 9 AM Wednesday to 9 AM PDT Thursday for zone 670. (See LAXMWWLOX). Small Craft Advisory in effect from 3 PM Wednesday to 9 AM PDT Thursday for zone 673. (See LAXMWWLOX). Small Craft Advisory in effect from 6 PM Wednesday to 9 AM PDT Thursday for zone 676. (See LAXMWWLOX).

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