The National Weather Service in San Francisco has issued advisories that give Bay Area residents a heads-up about potential weather hazards as we step into the New Year. NWS San Francisco warns that a long period of westerly to swell northwesterly will hit the West Coast towards the end of the week. Conditions will be ripe for High Surf Advisories, so beachgoers are reminded to exercise caution and "never turn your back to the ocean!"
In the meantime, a Frost Advisory is in effect until 9 AM this morning for multiple inland areas, including the Santa Clara Valley and the Salinas and Hollister Valleys. As per NWS San Francisco, the advisory cautions, "The cold conditions will create hazardous conditions for unsheltered populations and those without access to heat." New Year's celebrations should be tempered with the knowledge that "alcohol consumption increases the risk for hypothermia."
Our local microclimates deliver varied experiences across the Bay Area, as NWS San Francisco's Area Forecast Discussion reported. While some East Bay locations started to dip into the upper 30s, patchy fog and cloud cover kept North Bay temperatures hovering in the low to mid-40s. Due to these conditions, Frost Advisories have been canceled for the North and East Bay areas, where it was determined frost advisories should not have dipped as cold.
Moving into Friday, keep the rain gear close as widespread rainfall is expected to hit, particularly over the Bay Area and possibly along the Santa Cruz and Santa Lucia mountains. The forecast offers a glimmer of hope for those planning weekend outdoor activities, with dry weather predicted and signs pointing towards some ridging holding through the second week of January.
Those venturing to the coast should be especially wary. The marine and beach outlooks call for "mainly light winds" until widespread rain increases with a cold front later in the week. NWS San Francisco tells us that "wave model forecasts indicate increasingly long period swell arriving along the entire coastline from Sonoma County to Monterey County later Friday and lasting into Saturday." They urge extreme caution due to life-threatening beach conditions, including breakers that might reach 20 to 30 feet and potent rip currents.
