119
FXUS66 KEKA 110703
AFDEKA

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
National Weather Service Eureka CA
1203 AM PDT Fri Sep 11 2026

.KEY MESSAGES...

* A cooling trend arrives Friday into the weekend.

* Chances for light rainfall for Del Norte and northern Humboldt
  Saturday.

* Elevated fire danger each afternoon through Saturday for the
  interior.

*Fire Weather Watch for Lake County Saturday for strong winds and
 low relative humidity.

&&

.SYNOPSIS...Cooler temperatures Friday into the weekend. Light
rain is possible for the northern half of the area Saturday.
Westerly to northwesterly winds will increase the fire risk for
the interior through Saturday.


&&

.DISCUSSION...Interior temperatures will will be over 10 degrees
cooler Friday as troughing from the NW begins to influence the
region. The trough and associated front will swing through on
Saturday, considerably lowering interior temperatures to the 70s
and 80s.

Chances for rainfall have waned a bit as models trend this
slightly northward, but still the chance for measurable rain is
around 75% for much of Del Norte and around 20% in northern
Humboldt north of Eureka. The chance for wetting rain (0.1" or
more) in Del Norte is around 50% and around 10% in northern
Humboldt County. The trough will contain modest instability,
brining chances of some thunderstorms for Del Norte County.

Post frontal westerly winds will strengthen Saturday afternoon to
the eastern portions of the area. The probability of wind gusts
over 30 mph are above 50% for much of Lake County, eastern
Mendocino, and the Trinity River Valley in eastern Trinity County.
This will elevate fire weather concerns, particularly over Lake
County where the strongest winds will coincide with dry
conditions. A Fire Weather Watch has been issued to highlight this
threat. See the Fire Weather section below.


High pressure is likely to return again early next week, returning near-
normal temperatures and dry weather to the area. /JB


&&

.AVIATION...Fog to locally dense fog of 1/4 SM or less VIS settled
into the coastal terminals Thursday night. A weak disturbance
introduced some light drizzle and deepened the marine layer
somewhat. Ceilings are varying a bit, but period of fog are still
likely through Friday morning. The influence of an approaching
trough is then expected to allow for improvement in CIGs and VIS,
with perhaps scattering in the 20Z to 22Z span Friday. The stratus
will fill back in Friday evening, but chances for fog are
currently lower due to likely further deepening of the marine
layer. Interior locations will remain VFR with gusty north to
northwesterly winds developing in the afternoon.




&&

.MARINE...Northerly winds increase across the southern waters
Friday while easing some in the northern waters north of Cape
Mendocino. Localized gale conditions can be expected around and
south of Cape Mendocino Friday afternoon through Friday evening.
Short period seas up to 11 ft will be generated in the cape area
from these winds. Winds and seas quickly ease Saturday as a trough
moves in. This will bring thunderstorm chances to the northern
waters, mainly closer to the Oregon border.


&&

.FIRE WEATHER...Troughing Friday into the weekend will return
cooler temperatures and a deeper marine layer. Afternoon westerly
to northwesterly winds will increase further Friday and especially
Saturday. A weak front Saturday morning and early afternoon might
support wetting rain for Del Norte County, but elsewhere, the
only impact will be cooler weather, more cloud cover, and
especially gusty onshore winds. Wind gusts of 30 to 40 mph are
possible in Lake, southern Mendocino, and eastern Trinity Counties
Saturday afternoon. RH will rise with this onshore push of winds
from the 20s to the 40s, so the fire threat will be subdued
somewhat. Still, elevated to locally critical fire conditions are
expected, especially for the eastern portions of the area where
RHs will rise slower. A Fire Weather Watch has been issued
Saturday for lake County. /JB


&&

.EKA WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
CA...
None.
NORTHWEST CALIFORNIA COASTAL WATERS...
     Small Craft Advisory from 4 AM Friday to 3 AM PDT Saturday
     for PZZ455.

     Small Craft Advisory until 3 PM PDT Friday for PZZ470.

     Small Craft Advisory until 3 AM PDT Saturday for PZZ475.

&&

$$

NOTE: The full forecast discussion is now regularly issued between
10 am/pm and 1 pm/am. Additional updates will be issued as needed.

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For forecast zone information
see the forecast zone map online:
https://www.weather.gov/images/eka/zonemap.png