FXUS66 KEKA 140029 AFDEKA AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EUREKA CA 355 PM PST SAT NOV 13 2004 .SYNOPSIS... HIGH PRESSURE OVER THE EASTERN PACIFIC WILL CONTINUE TO BRING WARM CONDITIONS TO THE FORECAST AREA THROUGH SUNDAY NIGHT. HIGH CLOUDS WILL STREAM IN FROM A LARGE STORM SYSTEM WELL OFFSHORE...RESULTING IN DIMINISHED SUNSHINE NORTH OF MENDOCINO COUNTY ON SUNDAY. THIS STORM SYSTEM WILL BRING A COLD FRONT TO THE COASTAL WATERS SUNDAY NIGHT. THIS FRONT WILL SLOW DOWN AND WEAKEN AS IT DRIFTS ONSHORE MONDAY INTO MONDAY NIGHT. LOW PRESSURE DEVELOPING ALONG THE FRONT WILL KEEP A CHANCE OF RAIN TUESDAY THROUGH TUESDAY NIGHT...BEFORE WEAK HIGH PRESSURE BUILDS INTO THE REGION WEDNESDAY. UNSETTLED CONDITIONS WILL RETURN DURING THE LATTER PART OF THE WEEK. && .DISCUSSION... HIGH CLOUDS HAVE STREAMED INTO THE FORECAST AREA AS THEY DRIFT OVER THE RIDGE OF HIGH PRESSURE OVER THE EASTERN PACIFIC. THESE CLOUDS ARE COURTESY OF AN IMPRESSIVE CYCLONE STRETCHING FROM THE INTERTROPICAL CONVERGENCE ZONE WEST OF HAWAII INTO THE YUKON TERRITORY OF NW CANADA. THIS RIDGE OF HIGH PRESSURE AND PERIODS OF HIGH CLOUDS OF VARYING DENSITY WILL RESULT IN ANOTHER WARM DAY OF FILTERED SUNSHINE FORECAST AREA WIDE TOMORROW...BEFORE THE FRONTAL BOUNDARY ASSOCIATED WITH THE IMPRESSIVE CYCLONE WASHES ONSHORE. BUMPED TEMPERATURES UP 1F TO 4F FORECAST AREA WIDE TOMORROW EXCEPT AT KCEC AND FORT BRAGG FOR SUNDAY DUE TO SLIGHTLY WARMER CONDITIONS TODAY AND SOME WEAK WAA COMING IN FORM THE SOUTH IN THE NEXT 24 HOURS. PRIMARY ALTERATIONS TO GOING FORECAST WERE WITH TIMING AND INLAND PENETRATION OF THE PRECIPITATION ASSOCIATED WITH THE FRONT AS IT MOVES INTO THE FORECAST AREA. SLEW OF MODEL SOLUTIONS TODAY VARIED FROM THE NOGAPS AND ETA SOLUTIONS STALLING THE FRONT AT KCEC TO THE UKMET AND 00Z GFS PUSHING IT INTO TRINITY COUNTY AND NORTHERN PORTIONS OF MENDOCINO COUNTY MONDAY INTO MONDAY NIGHT. ATTEMPTED TO BLEND THESE SOLUTIONS...KEEPING LIKELY POPS ONLY ACROSS THE EXTREME NORTH AND WEST...TAPERING TO NO CHANCE WELL SOUTH. INTERESTINGLY...SPLIT JET FLOW THAT DEVELOPED WITH THE LAST TWO STORM SYSTEM AS THEY ENCOUNTERED THE WEST COAST SHOWS INDICATIONS OF DEVELOPING AGAIN WITH THIS NEXT SYSTEM. THE GFS 300MB WIND FIELD SHOWS TWO 50+KT MAXIMUMS IMPACTING ON THE WEST COAST BY TUESDAY...WITH ONE PUSHING INTO SOUTHERN BRITISH COLUMBIA...AND THE OTHER PUSHING INTO SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA. MODEL SFC OUTPUT INDICATES A WEAK AREA OF LOW PRESSURE DEVELOPING ALONG THE FRONTAL BOUNDARY AS IT DRIFTS INTO THE COAST. ON THE 12Z RUN THIS FEATURE TRACKED OVER THE MIDDLE OF THE CWA- ON THE 18Z RUN IT IS NOW FURTHER SOUTH. OVERALL UPPER LEVEL SCHEME TRACKS AN ASSOCIATED UPPER LOW ACROSS MENDOCINO COUNTY TUESDAY AS THE SYSTEM SPLITS. GIVEN SOUTHERN LOCATION OF UPPER DYNAMICS AND SOUTHERLY FLOW...EXPECT MODEL QPF TO TREND FURTHER SOUTH THAN CURRENTLY DEPICTED...SO TRENDED POP MAX ACCORDINGLY. IN THE LONGER TERM...THE GFS SHOWS A COUPLE OF SYSTEMS QUICKLY ON THE HEELS OF THE MONDAY/TUESDAY SYSTEM. MAINLY FOLLOWED THE ECMWF FOR LONGER RANGE GUIDANCE WITH POPS(AFTER MON/TUES)...BUT WOULD NOT BE SURPRISED IF THIS LONG TERM FORECAST NEEDS SIGNIFICANT ADJUSTMENTS IN THE NEXT FEW DAYS DUE TO RUN TO RUN INCONSISTENCIES IN THE GLOBAL MODELS. THESE UNCERTAINTIES ARE LIKELY THE RESULT OF THE WIDE RANGE OF LATITUDES ENCOMPASSED BY THE SPLIT AND SPLITTING JET(S). GENERALLY SPEAKING...IT DOES APPEAR THAT A COOLER AIRMASS WILL BE OVER THE AREA BY MIDWEEK...SO THE HIGH ELEVATION SNOW MELT WILL LIKELY COME TO AN END. && .EKA WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY FOR HAZARDOUS SEAS TODAY THROUGH MONDAY FROM CAPE MENDOCINO TO POINT SAINT GEORGE OUT 60NM SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY FOR HAZARDOUS SEAS TODAY THROUGH SUNDAY FROM CAPE MENDOCINO TO POINT ARENA OUT 60NM && $$ LUTZ