Issued at 915 AM PDT Fri Oct 23 2026
Foggy conditions persist in the Russian River Valley and the Petaluma Valley in Sonoma County this morning where visibilities have been less than 1/4 mile at times. This fog is forecast to lift/mix out within the next couple of hours and give way to mostly sunny skies. Elsewhere, a mix of low to mid-level clouds persist as the trough responsible for the rain we have received over the past few days exits to the east. These clouds will exit the region as well and result in mostly sunny conditions this afternoon. As such, temperatures will warm to just below seasonal averages today and warm to near normal through the weekend as weak ridging builds in from the eastern Pacific. A period of moderate to strong offshore winds are forecast late this evening and into Saturday morning across the North Bay Interior Mountains with weaker offshore flow in the higher elevations of the Bay Area. No updates to the ongoing forecast at this time.
RGass
, Issued at 1231 AM PDT Fri Oct 23 2026 (Today and tonight)
The first rainfall event of the new water year is winding down, after bringing widespread beneficial wetting rainfall across our entire forecast area. Pockets of scattered light rain across the Central Coast remains possible through sunrise this morning. Lingering clouds and moisture will help keep temperatures below normal today before warming to near normal for the weekend. A developing burst of offshore flow will produce gusty winds across the North Bay Interior Mountains this evening through the morning hours Saturday as a relatively weak and progressive 'inside slider' trough passes south through the Central Valley today. A much drier airmass will build in behind the trough with PWATs falling from around 0.75" during the day today, to below 0.50" after sunset. The strongest wind gusts will occur above 2500ft, up to 45 MPH with little vertical gradient forcing to help translate stronger winds to lower lying areas.
..issued at 1231 AM PDT Fri Oct 23 2026 (Saturday through Thursday)
The weekend will see a return of temperatures to near normal for this time of year and bright sunny skies due to the drier airmass. Progressive low amplitude ridging this weekend will give way to an upper level low dropping south out of the PNW for the beginning of next week. Overall, consensus in the synoptic patter begins to diverge from there, but either way temperatures appear to remain right around normal with some pleasant Fall days through the extended forecast. Minor coastal flooding due to lunar phase and thermal expansion is possible at normal trouble spots.
(18z TAFS) Issued at 1104 AM PDT Fri Oct 23 2026
Satellite imagery is messy this morning, depicting a mix of clear skies but also MVFR to VFR ceilings across the region. You can see some drier air that worked its way through, eroding stratus as it moves south but behind it clouds sink in from the northeast. Models aren't capturing this that well so opted to keep the general trends from the prior forecast and with VFR conditions by 20-21Z for most sites. Then skies will continue to clear as drier air continues to work into the region, leaving us with VFR conditions into tomorrow morning. There could be an exception for patchy fog in the North Bay Valleys around sunrise tomorrow given lingering moisture and the potential for radiational fog. But it'll have to compete against the drier air and weak offshore flow, so opted to keep conditions clear.
Vicinity of SFO, VFR conditions are expected at SFO; however, there could be a couple of more hours of MVFR cigs trying to sneak their way through as some clouds move in from the northeast. SKies should clear during the late afternoon or early evening hours and be accompanied with breezy onshore winds. Overnight and into Saturday morning, light offshore winds are expected with onshore flow returning mid to late Saturday afternoon.
SFO Bridge Approach, Similar to SFO.
Monterey Bay Terminals, The morning stratus has eroded with stratocu blossoming behind it. This will leave us right around or just above VFR cigs for the next couple of hours, with skies clearing later this afternoon and into the evening. Overnight, light offshore winds develop keeping us VFR for through Saturday morning.
(today through Wednesday) Issued at 915 AM PDT Fri Oct 23 2026
Conditions will continue to dry out this morning and be accompanied with fresh to locally strong northerly winds. Near gale force to gale force gusts possible across the far northern outer waters, with strong gusts south of Pigeon Point. Winds will gradually decrease through the day leading to moderate northerly breeze by Saturday morning and then prevailing through the upcoming week. Rough seas are expected today and tomorrow across the outer waters with wave heights peaking between 10 to 13 feet. Moderate seas prevail Sunday through much of next week.
Ca, None. PZ, Small Craft Advisory from 3 PM this afternoon to 9 PM PDT this evening for Pigeon Pt to Pt Pinos 0-10 nm-Pt Pinos to Pt Piedras Blancas 0-10 nm.
Small Craft Advisory until 9 AM PDT Saturday for Pt Arena to Pt Reyes 10-60 NM.
Small Craft Advisory until 9 PM PDT this evening for Pigeon Pt to Pt Pinos 10-60 NM.
