Gale Watch 23, NWS Eureka, CA

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
National Weather Service Eureka CA
251 PM PDT Fri Jun 26 2026

.KEY MESSAGES...

* Unseasonable cool temperatures are expected Saturday with highs
  in the 60s and low 70s.

* Showers in Humboldt and Del Norte counties will come to an end
  late tonight and Saturday morning.

* Breezy and Gusty Winds are expected to start to increase this
  afternoon with breezy winds across the area each afternoon over
  the weekend. Ridges across Lake, eastern Mendocino, and Trinity
  counties will see gusts between 35 and 40 mph.

* Thunderstorm Potential: A 10% chance of thunderstorms exists over
  northeastern Trinity County and interior Del Norte County on
  Saturday afternoon due to cold air destabilization aloft.

.SYNOPSIS...Light rain is expected to come to an end Saturday
morning. Unseasonably cool temperatures are expected across the
area with Saturday expected to be the coolest day. Moderate to
strong winds are expected across the area Saturday. A gradual
warming trend is expected into early next week.

&&

.DISCUSSION...A weak front is bringing some light rain to Del
Norte county with occasional light rain showers farther south and
east. These rain showers are not expected to expand much more and
are expected come to an end Saturday morning. The upper level
trough associated with the front is expected to bring temperatures
below seasonal normals for the interior with highs only in the
upper 60s to 70s in the valleys. Also, behind the front northerly
winds are expected to increase Friday night and through Saturday
across the area. Friday night the strongest winds are expected to
be on the eastern Ridges of Lake and Mendocino counties. Saturday
these stronger winds spread across much of the area. These winds
will make for an unseasonably cool day across the interior feel
even cooler. Some of the higher terrain in the Trinity Alps may
see temperatures stay in the low 50s. Saturday night into Sunday
morning will be the coldest night in a while. Frost is possible in
the coldest spots of Humboldt county with areas dropping into the
30s. At this point frost is not expected, but there is a small
chance it could happen.

Sunday high pressure starts to build into the area and
temperatures across the interior start to warm up again. The
warmup is expected to be gradual with highs Sunday expected to be
in the upper 70s to near 80. Breezy north winds will continue,
although they will mainly be in the afternoon and along the coast
and coastal ridges. The warming trend is expected to continue
through the middle of next week before leveling off. The highs are
expected to generally be in the 80s through much of the week in
the interior. The coast is expected to see some sun early in the
week, but the marine clouds are expected to return at some point.
MKK

&&

.AVIATION...A weak front is bringing light rain and drizzle to the
Humboldt and Del Norte coasts this afternoon. This is creating IFR
to LIFR conditions this afternoon. Late this afternoon and evening
some lower clouds may bring some lower clouds to KUKI, however
there is only a 40 percent chance of MVFR conditions. The front
is expected to move through this evening and this should start to
lift the ceilings on the north coast. Confidence is low on the
timing of this. However by 12z or 14Z clouds are expected to have
lifted to MVFR or IFR conditions. By 18Z confidence is fairly high
that we will IFR conditions at both KACV and KCEC. Saturday
afternoon will start to see some breezy north winds of 10 to 20
kt. MKK

&&

.MARINE...A front is bringing some light southerly winds near the
coast this afternoon. Tonight behind the front winds are expected
to become northerly and gradually start to increase. In addition
the wind waves there are two small swells. One is around 2 feet at
15 seconds out of the south and the other is around 3 feet at 7
seconds. These are expected to continue for the next few days.
Saturday afternoon and evening the winds start to strengthen more
notably and small craft advisories may be needed in the southern
waters initially. These winds are expected to strengthen on Sunday
and the southern waters may see near gale or gale force winds by
the afternoon. Stronger winds are expected to continue on Monday
through Wednesday with near gale or gale force winds. Late in the
week winds are expected to start to diminish again. MKK

&&

.FIRE WEATHER...A major pattern shift is underway this afternoon
as a strong cold front pushes through the region. While this
system brings critical wind speeds to parts of the interior, the
fire weather threat is significantly mitigated by a substantial
influx of moisture and high relative humidity values. Much of
Northern Humboldt and Del Norte counties have see a tenth to a
half inch of rain so far with some additional rain expected this
evening. Drier interior zones to the south and east will miss out
on meaningful wetting rain. The main operational focus centers on
Friday evening and Saturday across the mountains of Lake, eastern
Mendocino, and Trinity counties (including the Yolla Bollys).
Strong westerly winds developing behind the front will sustain
speeds of 10 to 20 mph, with ridge- top gusts frequently exceeding
30 to 40 mph. Fortunately, minimum relative humidity values on
Saturday afternoon will remain high, primarily between 40 and 60%
across the interior, and up to 80% along the coast. Exceptional
humidity recoveries of 80 to 100% are forecast for Saturday
morning, keeping fuel flammability low despite the high winds.
Cooler temperatures are expected across the area on Saturday with
highs in the low 70s in the warmer valleys. Localized
destabilization will support a 10% chance of thunderstorms across
northern Trinity County and interior Del Norte County on Saturday
afternoon, though lightning coverage will be isolated. Warmer and
drier conditions return Sunday as high pressure builds.

&&

.EKA WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
CA...
None.
NORTHWEST CALIFORNIA COASTAL WATERS...
None.
&&

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