011 FXUS66 KEKA 092151 AFDEKA AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION National Weather Service Eureka CA 251 PM PDT Tue Oct 9 2018 .SYNOPSIS...Dry and near seasonable temperatures will prevail through the work week as high pressure is forecast to dominate the region. Mostly sunny skies are forecast across most of the coast and interior this afternoon and evening, with portions of Humboldt county expected to experience cloudy conditions with only periods of sun. && .DISCUSSION...Early afternoon satellite imagery showed a near repeat of yesterday across Humboldt county with a thick layer of stratus draped across the coast north of the cape to the Humboldt and Del Norte county line. This area has since been eroded, with low clouds still observed across portions of interior Humboldt county. Expect these areas of low clouds to persist through this evening. Mostly sunny and dry conditions are expected across most of the forecast area through the weekend. Today's highs will be in in the low to mid 60s at the coast and mid 70s to very lows 80s across the interior. Temperatures will cool slightly across the interior tomorrow with low to mid 70s anticipated and low to mid 60s still anticipated at the coast. Highs will then warm slightly Thursday and hold pretty steady through the weekend with mid to upper 60s at the coast and mid 70s to mid 80s across the interior. Northerly winds have continued to blanket the coastal waters and portions of the interior over the past several days as a result of the large upper-level high over the northeastern Pacific and the low that was situated over the Four Corners. Model guidance continues to indicate the upper-level high will slowly drift eastward toward the West Coast as a disturbance dives southward and forms a low off the central California coast later this week. Northerly winds should then give way to a weak offshore flow pattern that is forecast to last through at least the weekend. Otherwise, no rain is expected over the next seven days. && .AVIATION...Less expansive marine stratus covered much of coast north of Cape Mendocino this morning with LIFR to IFR conditions reported at ACV and CEC airports. The stratus and fog also extended well into local river valleys this morning. Stratus/stratocumulus continued to linger this afternoon along the Eel Delta and local hills. Gusty to breezy northerly winds once again ramped up today along the coast, but will taper down in the evening. Several models are pushing a solution of limited clouds to clear at the coast from late night into Thursday. However, lingering clouds usually render low clouds at the coast. Therefore, expect some morning IFR-MVFR CIGs mainly impacting ACV and less so, if at all, at CEC. Also, guidance showing possible LLWS at CEC in the late evening. Interior areas will remain VFR except for some early fog possible into a few inland river valleys overnight. /TA && .MARINE...A strong expansive area of surface high pressure continues to reside over the northeastern Pacific Tuesday afternoon, while low pressure was located across the Great Basin. A tight pressure gradient exists between these two features over the coastal waters of northwestern California, which will promote gale force northerlies over the southern outer waters through Wednesday morning, and small craft speeds with steep seas over the remainder of the coastal waters through Wednesday evening. Gusty north winds will remain possible going into Friday, followed by much weaker winds during the weekend as low pressure develops offshore over central/northern California. Otherwise, a mid period northwesterly swell will continue to spread across the coastal waters during the next seven days...ranging from 4 to 6 feet at 12 seconds tonight and Wednesday, then subsiding to 3 feet at 10 seconds Thursday and Friday, followed by a potential increase from 4 to 7 feet at 9 seconds this Sunday. In addition, a southerly swell from 3 to 5 feet at 14 seconds appears to be on track tonight through the weekend. && .EKA WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... CA...None. NORTHWEST CALIFORNIA COASTAL WATERS...Small Craft Advisory until 9 PM PDT Wednesday for PZZ450-455. Small Craft Advisory until 3 PM PDT Thursday for PZZ470. Gale Warning until 11 AM PDT Wednesday for PZZ475. && $$ Visit us at http://www.weather.gov/eureka Follow us on Facebook and Twitter at: http://www.facebook.com/NWSEureka http://www.twitter.com/nwseureka For forecast zone information see the forecast zone map online: http://www.weather.gov/eureka/zonemap.png