Should the clouds align, San Franciscans can anticipate a dab of rain to close out their Wednesday evening and usher in a drizzly Thursday morning. According to the National Weather Service's San Francisco Bay Area branch, this minor ballet of precipitation will shower most locales with only a small grace of moisture. Last night, NWS BayArea's X post predicted "not much" rainfall, estimating that most areas will "only see a few hundredths of an inch, maybe a tenth at most."
Good evening! As you might have heard, there is another chance for light rainfall late tonight and early tomorrow morning!
— NWS Bay Area 🌉 (@NWSBayArea) September 18, 2024
Just how much will we get? Well, not much. Take a look at the image. Most locations will only see a few hundredths of an inch, maybe a tenth at most. #CAwx pic.twitter.com/Pi6PRTMvG6
While the city won’t face any drenching downpours, this light rain is just a piece of a larger shifting weather pattern. The skies above San Francisco and its surrounding territories are curtain to a low-pressure system moving southward from the Oregon coast, as described in the NWS SF Area Forecast Discussion. This atmospheric traveler brings light rain chances to the Bay Area by mid-to-late morning, with a slight potential for thunder, albeit a very slim, hovering around a 15% likelihood, mainly in the North Bay. Meanwhile, avid sailors and marine enthusiasts should heed the forecast of increasing northwesterly winds, prompting the issuance of a Small Craft Advisory beginning Thursday afternoon.
Despite the atmospheric tumult, these showers shall pass soon enough, giving way to clearer skies and a gentle crescendo of warmth. Seasonal normal temperatures are predicted to swing back by the weekend, culminating in an early week of slightly above normal temperatures, according to NWS SF Area Forecast Discussion. These conditions are part of a longer narrative of weather that ebbs and flows with the dance of high and low systems choreographed across our skies. The city is to embrace this transitory period of moisture before a promised return to the familiar San Francisco climate mix.
For those wondering about the immediate implications of this weather on air travel and coastal conditions, visibility may fluctuate with the marine layer's misty advances and retreats. The National Weather Service aviation discussion outlined that mid-level clouds, along with IFR and MVFR ceilings, "are moving through the area and look to last through the morning with light rain expected in the mid to late morning." As winds swell in the afternoon and the clouds part, VFR conditions are expected to bless the Bay's airports again. The maritime community, too, must navigate cautiously as seas will be moderate, building to become rough in the outer waters by Thursday.
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