Issued at 900 AM PST Wed Jan 28 2026
Locally dense fog continues in the East Bay Valleys and North Bay Valleys along the bay shoreline. Visibilities at Petaluma and Novato have recently improved from 1/4SM to 3SM. Foggy conditions are expected to continue to diminish through the remainder of the morning as temperatures warm. In terms of precipitation from last nights cold frontal passage, KMUX has been switched back into clear air mode from precipitation mode with showers no longer expected. Up to 0.15" of light rain was observed across the East Bay and along the San Francisco/San Mateo Peninsula. The North Bay Valleys saw up to 0.25" while the coastal North Bay Mountains saw around 0.40- 0.60". Drier and warmer conditions prevail for the upcoming week with the forecast remaining on track.
, Issued at 256 AM PST Wed Jan 28 2026 (Today and tonight)
Light scattered rain continues along the weakening but stalled cold front across the Bay Area and the coastal ranges from Marin County south to Santa Cruz county overnight with less than a .10" expected between now and sunrise before shutting down entirely. Increasing upper level height fields and thickness values quickly respond to the exiting trough to the east today with a building, positively tilted ridge producing weak offshore flow once again for the remainder of the week into the weekend. Temperatures today will tick a few degrees higher area wide with partially clearing skies from north to south over the course of the day. Overnight lows will be cooler than the more mild temps we woke up to yesterday due to less cloud cover and more efficient radiational cooling into early Thursday morning, expect lows in the upper 30s to mid 40s.
..issued at 256 AM PST Wed Jan 28 2026 (Thursday through Tuesday)
The stable pattern and weak offshore flow will produce very pleasant weather across our area through Saturday. The larger scale longwave synoptic pattern remains active but becomes increasingly more amplified by the weekend with a deep, sharpening trough well offshore over the EPac, while the ridging becomes more amplified over the interior west. By the time the trough axis starts making progress toward the California coast, it weakens and lifts farther north. Currently the signal for measurable precipitation is weaker than what we had pass through yesterday and last night, so impacts are expected to be minimal with any rain that does materialize late Saturday into Sunday morning, mostly in the North Bay. We may see some King Tide coastal flooding Friday through Sunday as well, however it will not be as impactful as what we saw last month, with minimal storm surge added to the forecasted heights given the weak disturbance offshore.
Deterministic guidance suggests persistent highly amplitude ridging to dominate into next week as well (in line with the CPC outlook). However an unusual retrograding upper level cutoff-low abandoned by the jet stream over the dessert southwest has plenty of time to shift and keep things interesting as it moves southwest offshore over SOCAL the second half of next week.
(18z TAFS) Issued at 937 AM PST Wed Jan 28 2026
VFR conditions expected to persist through much of the forecast period. Light offshore flow this morning is forecast to return to onshore by this afternoon and persist through the evening. High clouds will continue to pass over the region. Overnight, winds will become light and variable at times with the greatest potential for fog development over the North Bay valleys early Thursday morning. Where fog and/or low ceilings develop, expect clearing by around 18Z Thursday.
Vicinity of SFO, VFR. Light offshore winds this morning will become onshore by this afternoon. High confidence of VFR conditions to persist through the TAF period.
SFO Bridge Approach, Similar to SFO.
Monterey Bay Terminals, VFR. Light southerly winds this morning will become onshore by this afternoon. High confidence of VFR conditions to persist through the TAF period.
(today through Monday) Issued at 900 AM PST Wed Jan 28 2026
Gentle to moderate northerly/offshore breezes will prevail through Friday before winds veer to become southerly over the weekend. Moderate seas will build to become rough for the inner waters and outer waters today with very rough seas expected Thursday for the northern waters.
Issued at 347 AM PST Wed Jan 28 2026
Hazardous beach conditions return to all Pacific Coast beaches tonight and persist through Friday morning. Long period westerly swell will bring an increased risk for sneaker waves and strong rip currents with breaking waves of 14 to 19 feet. Remember: stay off of jetties, piers, rocks, and other waterside infrastructure, remain out of the water to avoid hazardous surf, and never turn your back on the ocean!
Ca, Beach Hazards Statement from 9 PM PST this evening through Friday morning for CAZ006-505-509-529-530.
PZ, Small Craft Advisory from 9 AM Thursday to 3 AM PST Friday for Pigeon Pt to Pt Pinos 10-60 NM-Pt Arena to Pt Reyes 0-10 nm.
Small Craft Advisory from 3 AM Thursday to 3 AM PST Friday for Pt Arena to Pt Reyes 10-60 NM.
