Technical NOAA Weather Discussion

FXUS66 KMTR 280442
AFDMTR

Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service San Francisco CA
942 PM PDT Sun Sep 27 2026

...New AVIATION, MARINE...

.KEY MESSAGES...
Updated at 1214 PM PDT Sun Sep 27 2026

 - Cool conditions today

 - Warming trend for the rest of the week

&&

.SHORT TERM...
Issued at 1214 PM PDT Sun Sep 27 2026
(This evening through Monday night)

High clouds continue to float over the Bay Area and Central Coast, 
while stratus coverage lingers across coastal Marin and San Mateo 
counties, the Oakland area, the city of San Francisco, and the 
southern Monterey Bay region. Some mixing out is possible through 
the afternoon where the high clouds clear out, but some coastal 
regions may remain socked in through the day. Stratus should return 
inland this evening and overnight.

Water vapor imagery shows a deep trough, perhaps even a cut-off low, 
centered just off of Cape Mendocino, which brings in cooler air to 
the region. Highs today will range in the 70s for the inland 
valleys, into the lower to middle 80s for the warmest spots of 
southern Monterey County, and the upper 50s to the lower 70s for the 
coastal and Bayshore regions. Breezy onshore winds will develop in 
the afternoon and evening with gusts of 20 to 30 mph at the coast, 
through favored gaps and passes, and within the Salinas Valley. 

As the trough/low moves across the state, and ridging comes in 
behind it, the upper level winds over the Bay Area and Central Coast 
will shift from southwesterly to northeasterly, leading to a push of 
offshore flow on Monday morning. The strongest winds look to develop 
on the lee sides (southwest-facing slopes) of the interior mountains 
of the North Bay, where hydraulic jump effects will push wind gusts 
to around 20 mph. High temperatures will warm a fair bit in the 
inland valleys, where the forecast calls for middle 70s to middle 
80s, and the Bayside locations, which should expect highs in the 
upper 60s to middle 70s.

&&

.LONG TERM...
Issued at 1214 PM PDT Sun Sep 27 2026
(Tuesday through next Saturday)

Additional pushes of higher elevation offshore flow will set up on 
Tuesday morning and Wednesday morning, chiefly across the North and 
East Bay interior mountains. The strongest push looks to be on 
Tuesday morning with wind gusts of 25 to 35 mph possible in the 
interior mountains of the North Bay. The potential for wind gusts 
above 35 mph is greatest at the ridgeline of the Vaca Mountains 
along the eastern border of Napa County. 

Otherwise, seasonably warm temperatures should be fully
established by Tuesday as highs in the inland valleys reach the 
middle 80s to the middle 90s, those in the Bayshore regions reach 
the middle 70s to the middle 80s, and the Pacific coast reaches 
the middle 60s to middle 70s. Temperatures may fluctuate by a few 
degrees each day but the general trend should remain similar 
through the end of the seven day outlook. Some areas of Moderate 
HeatRisk, a level of heat that brings a moderate risk of heat-
related illnesses to sensitive populations, will develop through 
the next few days, but confidence in widespread impacts is not 
high enough to issue a Heat Advisory at this point. Longer-range 
guidance suggests that temperatures above the seasonal average 
will continue into the middle of October.

As a final point, minor coastal flooding is possible in low-lying 
areas across the San Francisco, San Pablo, and Monterey Bay 
shorelines Tuesday through Thursday. Up to 1.1 feet of inundation
above normally dry land is expected, including up to 0.6 ft of 
surge caused by thermal expansion and sea level rise since the sea
level datum (basically the point where we define as "sea level") 
was set in the 1983-2011 period. At the San Francisco tidal gauge,
high tide is expected to be 1.0 ft above normal (6.81 ft MLLW) at
1:30 PM Tuesday 9/29, 1.1 ft above normal (6.93 ft MLLW) at 2:10 
PM Wednesday 9/30, and 1.0 ft above normal (6.82 ft MLLW) at 2:58
PM on Thursday 10/1. 

&&

.AVIATION...
(06Z TAFS)
Issued at 910 PM PDT Sun Sep 27 2026

VFR/MVFR conditions continue across our terminals. Developing
offshore flow should hold off stratus/fog developing for the North
Bay. Plenty of uncertainty of the drier air filling in behind the
upper trough currently shifting east across our area. Where
stratus develops near the coastal terminals, there's a slight
chance of patchy fog and drizzle.

Vicinity of SFO...MVFR ceilings have persisted all afternoon and
evening. Not much clarity in guidance, thus a low confidence
forecast that MVFR ceilings will mix out late in the overnight
hours as drier air fills in behind the upper trough mentioned
above.

SFO Bridge Approach...Similar to SFO.

Monterey Bay Terminals...Steady onshore flow continues to produce
low level stratus/stratocu with no end in sight based on satellite
trends. Drier air will take more time to filter that far south,
with more diffuse effects thus maintaining more typical clearing
to VFR by mid/late Monday morning.

&&

.MARINE...
(Tonight through next Saturday)
Issued at 910 PM PDT Sun Sep 27 2026

Moderate to strong north winds will continue through Monday with
the strongest gusts across the northern outer waters and south of
Point Pinos, where near gale force gusts are expected at times.
Moderate to strong winds will continue through the middle of the
week, becoming light to moderate by the end of the week. Tropical
activity will produce long period swell up to 16 seconds Wednesday
and Thursday.

&&

.FIRE WEATHER...
Issued at 1214 PM PDT Sun Sep 27 2026

Today is the last day of seasonally cool and moist conditions before 
warmer and drier air comes in for the next week, especially above 
the marine layer inversion. Upper level northeasterly flow will 
combine with hydraulic jump effects in the lee side of the mountains 
to create some breezy offshore gusts each morning from Monday 
through Wednesday. The strongest winds are expected on Tuesday 
morning in the interior mountains of the North and East Bays, where 
wind gusts could reach 30 mph. These offshore winds should 
contribute to poor overnight humidity recoveries, with overnight 
relative humidities as low as 20-40% above the marine layer, and a 
chance for nocturnal drying events across the higher elevations. 

DialH

&&

.MTR WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
CA...Coastal Flood Advisory from 11 AM Monday to 5 PM PDT Thursday 
     for CAZ006-506-508-529-530.

PZ...Small Craft Advisory until 3 AM PDT Monday for Mry Bay-Pigeon Pt 
     to Pt Pinos 0-10 nm-Pt Arena to Pt Reyes 0-10 nm.

     Small Craft Advisory until 11 PM PDT Monday for Pt Pinos to Pt 
     Piedras Blancas 0-10 nm.

     Small Craft Advisory until 3 PM PDT Wednesday for Pigeon Pt to 
     Pt Pinos 10-60 NM-Pt Arena to Pt Reyes 10-60 NM.

&&

$$

SHORT TERM...DialH
LONG TERM....DialH
AVIATION...JM
MARINE...JM

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Prepared by Boulder-Creek.com Weather at: Sun Sep 27 22:30:05 PDT 2026
From the National Weather Service