The National Weather Service San Francisco has forecast a slight warm-up for the city today, particularly away from the coast, with near-normal temperatures expected over the weekend; however, northerly winds are set to pick up later in the day and persist throughout the weekend, leading to potentially hazardous conditions over coastal waters and elevated fire weather conditions on land. As reported by the National Weather Service, a notable uptick in warmth is anticipated late next week.
Today's fresher climbed mercury readings will owe their thanks to a north-south shortwave ridge pushing in, and an increasing pressure gradient, specifically from San Francisco to Arcata. The combination is expected to give way to more sunshine, even along the usually fog-laden coastline where temperatures are predicted to hover in the 60s to mid-70s by the bays and surge to the upper 70s to upper 90s further inland, the warmest temperatures poised to blister inland parts of Monterey and San Benito, "with isolated HeatRisk values in the Moderate category", the National Weather Service detailed.
Looking ahead to the long term, over the coming weekend and into early next week, the NWS indicates that said shortwave ridge will flatten as a longwave trough takes a more pronounced position along the West Coast. This will bring seasonable temps back, with a range expected from the 60s to mid-70s by the coast and the mid-70s to lower 90s inland. Yet, the bigger weather story for the weekend will revolve around the strengthening of northerly winds, which are forecasted to generate conditions that can be troubling for mariners and land dwellers alike due to heightened marine hazards and fire weather concerns, as expanded on in the NWS Area Forecast Discussion.
For those looking skyward over the next few days, the Aviation outlook up until June 19th suggests VFR conditions after mid-to-late-morning clear-up, except areas like Monterey Bay, Salinas Valley, and those visiting STS which could be experiencing low visibility and LIFR CIGS early in the day. However, strong and gusty winds will rear up later in the afternoon, particularly along the coast and at SFO where gusts could spiral to about 33 knots, but winds are projected to simmer down a bit come late evening, SFO can expect moderate to breezy conditions to endure into the night, the NWS in their Aviation sector projections pinpointed.
Boating enthusiasts, be wary: the Marine section warns of gale force gusts and robust north and northwest winds that will take hold of the waters starting today, set to persist well into the weekend with significant wave heights reaching up to 12 to 15 feet in the outer waters and 10 to 14 feet closer to shore, which is expected to challenge safe navigational conditions at least until mid-week. Lastly, firefighters remain vigilant as the National Weather Service has cautioned of "elevated fire weather conditions" through the weekend, with less marine cloud cover, mounting northerly winds, especially over higher elevations, and decreasing relative humidity, both day and night, making it important that locals and visitors alike stay well aware of their surroundings to prevent sparking a blaze.
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