National Weather Service United States Department of Commerce

Severe Thunderstorms and Heavy Rain in the Southern Plains; Fire Weather Threat in the Southwest U.S.

Thunderstorms, some severe, may produce heavy to excessive rainfall and isolated flooding over portions of the Southern Plains today and Saturday. Dry conditions, combined with gusty winds and low relative humidities will continue to support an elevated to critical fire weather threat in the Desert Southwest into to early next week. Read More >

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344
FXUS66 KMTR 260232
AFDMTR

Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service San Francisco CA
732 PM PDT Fri Apr 25 2025

...New AVIATION...

.SYNOPSIS...
Issued at 1247 PM PDT Fri Apr 25 2025

Cool, cloudy, and for some, rainy conditions are forecast over
the next 24 hours. Significant impacts due to rain or isolated
storms are not anticipated. Some mountain top snow is also
forecast across the Santa Lucia Range. Sunday and into next week
appear rain-free with a slight warming trend. Thereafter, the
upper air pattern may support opportunities for light rain next
weekend.

&&

.SHORT TERM...
(This afternoon through Saturday Night)
Issued at 1247 PM PDT Fri Apr 25

-Short Term Key Messages
*Cool and cloudy conditions
*Showers and isolated thunderstorm chances
*Mountain top light snow

Showers will continue this afternoon and evening across southern
portions of the Bay Area as well as the Central Coast. The
primary culprit appears to be a couple of PV anomalies along the
2PVU surface rotating around the main upper low/trough. Rain will
still remain on the "lighter" end and 12 hour rainfall amounts
have largely tallied around a few hundredths of an inch across the
region.

As the main upper trough digs southward, we`ll see a
re-invigoration of marine showers that will slide eastward. Guidance
has been rather insistent on the Big Sur Coastline being the
favored region for convection and given the range in the forecast,
I`ll nudge PoPs upward. As the upper low continues to pinwheel
down the Central Coast, some modest 850-700mb WAA or trough of
warm air aloft may result in some precipitation across the North
Bay early Saturday morning. Currently, the greatest PoPs reside
down across the Central Coast with rain chances ranging from
60-70% with PoPs around 30-50% across the North Bay. This leaves
the heart of the Bay Area in a minimum PoP wise, but even here, a
few sprinkles or light showers will remain possible (albeit around
20%).

As far as the potential for isolated thunderstorms, this remains
a possibility, though the probability is diminishing. Forecast
soundings indicate lapse rates may not be quite as steep (likely
do to some slight shifts in the location of the coldest air
aloft), but still supportive of more vigorous showers with a few
isolated lightning strikes. For now, have confined the risk for a
few storms to southern Monterey and San Benito counties. At this
time, widespread severe weather is not anticipated, but brief
bouts of accumulating hail may result in slick driving conditions.

There still remains an opportunity for some snow across the
higher terrain of the Santa Lucia Range and potentially portions
of the Diablo Range. Overall, not anticipating much in the way of
significant impacts due to snow.

&&

.LONG TERM...
(Sunday through next Thursday)
Issued at 1247 PM PDT Fri Apr 25 2025

-Long Term Key Messages
*Lingering rain chances on Sunday Morning
*Modest warming trend, `Minor` HeatRisk next week

A slight change to the long term forecast and there now remains
a potential (20-30% chance ) for lingering precipitation after
sunrise Sunday. As the upper low departs, large scale ascent
should ramp down. However, low level moisture remains plentiful
and there`s still an opportunity for largely light drizzle with
some breezy conditions (10-20 mph wind gusts) as the surface
pressure gradient remains a little tight.

Longer term model projections support a handful of days that will
be dominated by shortwave ridging. This will mean a gradual
warming trend, with "minor" HeatRisk returning. This type of heat
isn`t overly impactful, except to those that are exceptionally
sensitive to heat (very young and elderly). As we progress into
the first weekend of May, there are some signs that the pattern
evolve such that a couple of upper troughs slide through the
area. This may mean additional rain chances in the day 8-10 time
frame according to a couple of the ensemble clusters. For now,
we`ll hold serve with a largely rain-free forecast given the time
of year and the consensus of a dry period among a majority of the
NWP. Of course, early May rains will be beneficial as it pertains
to delaying the start of our dry/spring fire season.

&&

.AVIATION...
(00Z TAFS)
Issued at 700 PM PDT Fri Apr 25 2025

Scattered light rain continues this evening as an upper level low
tracks south along the California coastline this evening. VFR is
expected to prevail, with some cigs lowering to MVFR if a shower
passes overt the terminal.

Vicinity of SFO...VFR conditions are expected to prevail through
the overnight with occasional drops to MVFR if/when a shower
passes over the terminal, especially early Saturday morning when
an increase in rain coverage around the Bay Area is possible. VFR
is expected for the remainder of the TAF period from Saturday
afternoon onward.

SFO Bridge Approach...Similar to SFO.

Monterey Bay Terminals...Rain coverage is expected to gradually increase
across the Monterey Bay area overnight into early Saturday morning
but still be scattered in nature. There is slight chance for an
isolated thunderstorm, but confidence is too low for mention in
the TAF. Expect VFR conditions to prevail through the forecast
period with occasional cig drops into MVFR if a rain shower moves
over any of the terminals.

.MARINE...
(Today through Wednesday)
Issued at 842 AM PDT Fri Apr 25 2025

A chilly upper level low arriving from the northwest will result
in scattered showers across the coastal waters and bays today
through Sunday morning. Gusty northwest winds and rough seas
return across the northern outer coastal waters late Saturday. Dry
weather returns early next week due to an eastward moving high
pressure system over the Pacific.

&&

.MTR WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
CA...None.
PZ...Small Craft Advisory from 3 PM to 9 PM PDT Saturday for Pt Arena
to Pt Reyes 10-60 NM.

&&

$$

SHORT TERM...Bain
LONG TERM....Bain
AVIATION...JM
MARINE...JM

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