Gale Watch 12, NWS Eureka, CA

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
National Weather Service Eureka CA
232 PM PDT Tue Apr 14 2026

.SYNOPSIS...Rain will return tonight and continue into Wednesday,
especially for the North Coast. Near freezing to freezing low
temperatures expected to return late week. More rain possible late
weekend.

&&

.DISCUSSION...Tonight through Wednesday, an upper level trough
moving into the interior PacNW will extend southward, leading to
windy and rainy conditions for NW CA. Breezy southerly winds up to
30mph are possible for Del Norte and Humboldt counties. Del Norte
and northern Humboldt, along with the King Range, is forecast to
receive the most rain as the front rapidly moves southward and
weakens. The current NBM indicates a 40 to 70 percent chance for
24 hour rainfall amounts greater than 1 inch for Del Norte
County (the highest percentages are on windward facing, higher
terrain areas). Northern Humboldt has a 60 to 80 percent chance
for 24 hour rainfall totals of greater than 0.5 inches. Rainfall
will be light with periods of moderate intensity for the Humboldt
Bay area (70 to 80 percent chance for greater than 0.25 inches in
a 24 hour period). Lighter rain intensity and totals are
forecasted for Trinity and northern Mendocino counties. Less than
a tenth of an inch is expected in southern Mendocino and Lake
counties. As per usual, the mountain areas will have more rain
than the surrounding valleys. The bulk of the colder air for this
system is forecast to be in southern OR and NE CA. This means
that snow levels are still expected to be ~5,000 feet for most of
the precip, but may drop below 3,000 feet as the precip comes to
an end Wednesday evening. As the frontal system continues
southward, breezy west winds in excess of 30 mph are possible
Wednesday evening in Lake County.

Wednesday night into Thursday morning shows cold air moving over the
area lowering snow levels down to 2,000 ft, leading to cold
temperatures. The NBM is showing lows in the 20s in northern Lake,
northeast Mendocino, and much of Trinity county. While this is
certainly possible, fog and low clouds from the added moisture may
develop in some of the valleys, limiting the radiational cooling.
Thursday afternoon, clear skies and dry conditions are expected with
a slight warming trend. This will likely set up Thursday night to be
the coldest night as even the coast may see frost.

Global models show another frontal system passing on Saturday
night through Monday. At this point, model rainfall totals have
risen slightly. Details of this system will continue to become
clearer over the coming days.

&&

.AVIATION...(18z TAFs)...An upper trough approaches Northwest
California tonight, bringing widespread cloud cover. Most of the
rain will affect terminals in Del Norte and Humboldt. Gusty
southerly winds can be expected for coastal terminals of Del Norte
and Humboldt and terminals in higher terrain areas. MVFR to higher
end IFR ceilings may accompany heavier periods of rain very early
Wednesday morning. Low VFR ceilings could be possible very early
Wednesday morning for KUKI.

&&

.MARINE...Winds continue to decrease today as the previous system continues
to move inland and the next storm system approaches the Pacific
Northwest. Winds will briefly turn out of the south starting today
and into tonight ahead of the next frontal passage. A few areas
in the north could see nearly small craft conditions ahead of the
front. However, winds will sharply turn back out of the north as
the front passes through the waters on Wednesday with small craft
and possibly gale conditions developing Wednesday night into
Thursday and Thursday night. /RPA

&&

.EKA WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
CA...
None.
NORTHWEST CALIFORNIA COASTAL WATERS...
     Small Craft Advisory from 3 PM Wednesday to 3 PM PDT
     Thursday for PZZ470-475.

&&

NOTE: The full forecast discussion is now regularly issued between
10 am/pm and 1 pm/am. Additional updates will be issued as needed.

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For forecast zone information
see the forecast zone map online:
https://www.weather.gov/images/eka/zonemap.png