Issued at 858 AM PST Tue Jan 13 2026
Tranquil conditions continue for today, with largely mostly sunny skies. A few high clouds may attempt to skirt around the eastern periphery of our H5 ridge and graze far interior portions of the East Bay and Central Coast. Total column moisture continues to diminish with the 12Z OAK RAOB sampling a PWAT of near 0.25" this morning. This is around 0.15" lower than 24 hours ago. This should equate to a steeper diurnal temperature curve and thus warmer conditions compared to Monday (yesterday). The current forecast for today (Tuesday) seems reasonable for MaxT with widespread 60s and low 70s. Believe it or not, "Minor" HeatRisk is advertised across parts of the Central Coast. In fact, a handful of the valleys across the Central Coast, could see (around a 15-20% chance) temperatures climb into the mid 70s, especially across the SC Mountains. All in all, not anticipating widespread heat impacts and the real "impactful" weather element will be a continued risk for hazardous beach conditions through the end of the week, possibly longer. Be sure to check the latest beach forecast before heading out.
, Issued at 125 AM PST Tue Jan 13 2026 (Today and tonight)
Fog has developed tonight in parts of Sonoma County, namely the Russian River Valley and the northern Santa Rosa Plain. It's a little hard to pick out in the satellite imagery, but it is being shown on local webcams and the observations from Sonoma County Airport. Visibilities should improve after sunrise this morning. Otherwise, skies remain clear across the Bay Area and Central Coast with light winds enhancing the chances for radiational cooling across the region. A Cold Weather Advisory is in effect across the interior North Bay and East Bay valleys and the interior Central Coast including the southern Salinas Valley through 9 AM as the lows dip into the lower to middle 30s across the area. Elsewhere, low temperatures reach the upper 30s to middle 40s in the lower elevations and upper 40s to lower 50s in the higher elevations.
No significant weather concerns today as an upper level ridge continues to dominate the weather pattern across the western United States. Light offshore flow is expected to develop with wind gusts topping out around the 15 to 20 mph range, and even then only during the morning across favored regions near the Golden Gate and the Pajaro Valley. High temperatures range from the upper 50s to lower 60s in the San Francisco area and the East Bay, and the middle 60s to the lower 70s in the inland valleys.
..issued at 125 AM PST Tue Jan 13 2026 (Wednesday through Monday)
For the weekly forecast, it's wash, rinse, repeat. High pressure stalls over the western United States, resulting in an extended period of seasonally warm daytime highs, mild nighttime lows, and light offshore winds. To give an idea of the regional warmth, high temperatures through the upcoming weekend are around 5 degrees above the seasonal average in downtown San Francisco, and around 8 to 15 degrees above the seasonal average across the rest of the Bay Area and Central Coast.
Towards the early part of next week, just beyond the end of the 7- day outlook, the upper level ridge begins to erode, allowing temperatures to cool. Beyond that, the level of uncertainty over the evolution of the weather pattern shoots upward. The previous forecaster noted the split between those models that break down the upper ridge more quickly into onshore flow and those that kept the ridging in place a little longer. Looking at the latest ensemble model cluster guidance, this still appears to be the case. By the 21st, the ensemble model clusters are split roughly half-to-half between those with a more pronounced trough across the West Coast and those that keep more zonal flow or even a residual ridge in place. All together, it appears that a period of more active weather may be in store as we head towards the end of the month.
(18z TAFS) Issued at 1038 AM PST Tue Jan 13 2026
Mostly VFR conditions are being reported across the Bay Area and Central Coast, with the exception being KHAF where the AWOS and cameras show visibility reduced to MVFR conditions. Expect these conditions to prevail through the evening hours, with the forecast becoming a bit more challenging overnight. Confidence is high that KSTS will see another foggy night; however, confidence is moderate to low on who else might see reduced visibility due to fog. A decent amount of MOS guidance and hi-res models indicate visibilities falling to MVFR categories from roughly 9Z-18Z, with visibility improving around or shortly after 18Z. Opted to hint at that with the possibility of visibilities going lower with later updates. Stay tuned.
Vicinity of SFO, Offshore winds will prevail today, with VFR conditions holding through the evening and confidence being high. After about 9Z, confidence becomes medium to low, as models suggest KSFO and areas around it having visibilities fall to MVFR status. Current thinking is we may see vis drop to about 6SM from 9Z-12Z with conditions potentially falling to 4SM from 12-17Z and then returning to VFR shortly after that period.
SFO Bridge Approach, Similar to SFO.
Monterey Bay Terminals, VFR and offshore conditions will prevail today and should continue into tomorrow morning. Some models show MVFR visibilities being possible after 12Z at KSNS and KMRY; however, winds should remain elevated enough to keep fog at bay.
(today through Sunday) Issued at 858 AM PST Tue Jan 13 2026
Gentle to moderate easterly to northeasterly winds continue today, before northerly winds return on Wednesday. Offshore winds return Thursday and Saturday before northerlies return over the weekend. Moderate seas will prevail through the week with the exception of the northwestern portion of the waters where rough seas will briefly build in Wednesday into Thursday.
Ca, None. PZ, None.
