Area Forecast Discussion
Issued by NWS Medford, OR
Issued by NWS Medford, OR
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355 FXUS66 KMFR 081703 AFDMFR Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Medford OR 903 AM PST Fri Nov 8 2024 .DISCUSSION...Satellite imagery is showing fog in the Umpqua Basin and also portions of the Rogue Valley between Agness and Grants Pass. We pushed the dense fog advisory out until 10 am this morning since web cams are still showing some low visibility conditions along I-5. Fog will dissipate late this morning and probably completely clear by noon. High pressure will maintain dry weather area wide the rest of today with some high clouds at times, especially west of the Cascades. No further updates are expected this morning. -Spilde && .AVIATION...08/18Z TAFS...VFR conditions prevail across much of the region and will do so through the TAF period. The exception being areas of LIFR conditions in fog/low clouds in the Umpqua Basin and the coastal river valleys. These lower conditions will clear to VFR by late this morning with VFR prevailing thereafter. The pattern will begin shifting late today into Saturday, and there will be an increase in mid and high level cloud cover later today into Saturday. The marine layer will return to the coast this evening, likely bringing the return of MVFR ceilings tonight along the coast. /BR-y && .MARINE...Updated 830 AM PST Friday, November 8, 2024... Sub-advisory conditions will continue though early Saturday, though seas will gradually increase tonight into Saturday as the pattern becomes more active. Two fronts will move through this weekend, one Saturday afternoon/evening and another Sunday night into Monday. The first front, the weaker of the two, will bring increasing south winds tonight into Saturday with building westerly swell. This will result in conditions hazardous to small craft for much of the outer waters north of Cape Blanco, since combined wave heights will approach 10 feet. A Small Craft Advisory has been issued for late Saturday morning into the evening. Farther south, where winds will be lighter, seas will be swell dominated and remain mostly below 10 feet. That front will stall and dissipate over the waters Saturday night before the second front, the stronger one, moves through late Sunday into Monday. This will likely bring a period of moderate to heavy rain, gales and steep to very steep, chaotic seas. Models continue to show this system being followed by another large, long period swell, peaking around next Tuesday. Early indications are showing peak swells 17-21 feet with a period of 15-16 seconds. This would maintain very high and very steep seas through midweek. - Spilde/Hermansen && .PREV DISCUSSION... /Issued 332 AM PST Fri Nov 8 2024/ DISCUSSION (Today through Thursday)... Overview: A strong upper level system is still anticipated to start impacting the area as early as Saturday/Saturday night with precipitation and strong wind speeds over the Cascades/eastside. However, the wind will be most impactful Sunday night through Monday night across the eastside with a secondary system. This system will bring several rounds of rainfall to the area, with heavy rainfall possible along and near the coast where some areas could see several inches of rainfall over ~48 hours (Sun-Tues). Higher elevations along the Cascades will see snowfall during this timeframe, and upwards near two feet of snowfall will be possible in and around Crater Lake through a ~24-36hr window Monday morning through Tuesday afternoon. Further Details: Ridging aloft will slowly erode tonight as a cut-off low positioned over the Four Corners region begins to eject over the Central Plains tonight into Saturday. Once that cut-off low ejects over the Plains, this will allow for a trough to form over the Pacific and transition over the PacNW through the end of the weekend. Behind this initial open wave trough is another shortwave. These two features will essentially lead to several rounds of precipitation starting Saturday afternoon/evening and going into middle of next week. This doesn`t mean it will precipitate this entire period, but we are looking at several opportunities across the region at varying times and coverage. From Highway 140 north through the Cascades we are looking at the potential for heavy snowfall, especially around Crater Lake. Snow levels will start around 7K to 9K feet until Saturday when they lower to about 6K to 7K feet, but Monday through Tuesday these will lower to around 4K feet. That Monday through Tuesday timeframe will be the most impactful for snowfall and we may need to consider a winter weather hazard. Forecast soundings for Crater Lake indicate very strong lapse rates within the dendritic growth zone and ample lift. The wind speeds will also be orthogonal to the Cascades which should allow for efficient upslope flow in addition to dynamic lifting. All in all, we are looking at the potential for impressive snowfall rates (0.50"-1.00"/hr) and at least minor impacts over passes, especially areas above 5000 feet Monday through Tuesday morning. The rainfall along and near the coast could be impactful as well given the heaviest rain could be falling during the Monday morning commute. Precipitable water values will be around 1.00"-1.25" along/near the coast with strong theta-e advection in the low/mid levels. Areas in both Coos and Curry county could experience the heaviest rain, but western parts of both Douglas (near the coast) and Josephine counties could also see these higher amounts as well albeit not quite as high as coastal areas. Overall, these areas mentioned could experience localized flash flooding, so plan for extra commute times during the rainfall. -Guerrero AVIATION...08/12Z TAFS...Signs of fog are starting to show up on satellite imagery in the Umpqua Basin. Guidance does not have high confidence in a solid marine layer developing over North Bend, so right now periods of MVFR visibilities look possible. LIFR conditions have returned to the Umpqua Basin, and the fog will likely clear out by late morning. Clouds are starting to move into the area this morning, but ceilings should stay at VFR levels after the fog lifts. Precipitation is not expected until Saturday. -TAD/Hermansen MARINE...Updated 200 AM PST Friday, November 8, 2024... Light winds and seas are expected today, though we`ll likely see a bit of a surge of cloud cover up the coast as surface winds shift to southerly. Two fronts will move through this weekend, one Saturday afternoon/evening and another Sunday night into Monday. The first front, the weaker of the two, will bring increasing south winds Friday night into Saturday with building westerly swell. This will result in conditions hazardous to small craft for much of the outer waters north of Cape Blanco, since combined wave heights will approach 10 feet. A Small Craft Advisory has been issued for late Saturday morning into the evening. Farther south, where winds will be lighter, seas will be swell dominated and remain mostly below 10 feet. That front will stall and dissipate over the waters Saturday night before the second front, the stronger one, moves through late Sunday into Monday. This will likely bring a period of moderate to heavy rain, gales and steep to very steep, chaotic seas. Models continue to show this system being followed by another large, long period swell, peaking around next Tuesday. Early indications are showing peak swells 17-21 feet with a period of 15-16 seconds. This would maintain very high and very steep seas through midweek. -Spilde/Hermansen && .MFR WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... OR...Dense Fog Advisory until 10 AM PST this morning for ORZ023. CA...None. PACIFIC COASTAL WATERS...Small Craft Advisory from 10 AM to 10 PM PST Saturday for PZZ370. && $$ MAS/MNF/JWG/ANH