Forecast Discussions mentioning any of "ACARS" "MDCRS" "AIRCRAFT" "TAMDAR" "AMDAR" "WVSS" received at GSD on 05/05/19


Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Los Angeles/Oxnard CA
825 PM PDT Sat May 4 2019 .SYNOPSIS...04/643 PM. A low pressure system approaching the area will deepen the marine layer tonight, bringing low clouds into the coasts and valleys. Clouds are expected to remain over the area Sunday and Monday along with a chance of showers. Tuesday and Wednesday will be dry, and more showers are possible by Friday. Temperatures will remain cool through the period. && .SHORT TERM (SAT-TUE)...04/825 PM. Closed upper level low pressure system centered around 400 miles west of Point Conception this evening. This approaching upper level low pressure system combined with strong pressure gradients (LAX-Daggett peaking at +7.3 mb this afternoon) has resulted in a deepening of the marine layer and some cooling across the region. ACARS data showing the marine layer depth around 2000 feet this evening across the LA basin, but is expected to deepen to around 4000 feet by Sunday morning. Satellite imagery showing low clouds surging in quickly this evening across coastal areas, and is expected to spread rapidly inland overnight, reaching the lower coastal slopes by Sunday morning. This rapid deepening of the marine layer should bring areas of drizzle for areas of south Point Conception overnight into Sunday morning, especially in the foothills and coastal slopes. In addition, temperatures will be much cooler on Sunday. A weak frontal band is establishing ahead of the low pressure system. This system will bring a threat of rain showers, mainly north of Point Conception and the adjacent coastal waters on Sunday. While typical convective parameters (Lifted Index and CAPE values) are not overly impressive with the system, 500 mb temperatures at the core of the low pressure system are as low as -23 degrees Celsius which is unseasonably cold for an early May system. With this cold air aloft, a high May sun angle, and some jet dynamics, have included a slight chance of thunderstorms on SUnday for areas north of Point Conception as well as the adjacent coastal waters. The upper low wobbles around to our north on Sunday night and is then expected to track southeastward across our forecast area on Monday. While the exact track of the upper low for Monday is still in question, the models generally bring the low center and the associated cold air aloft into our area on Monday, bringing a threat of convective showers, especially in the mountains. Later shifts may need to include a slight chance of thunderstorms over portions of the mountains on Monday afternoon as latest NAM model trending more unstable. *** From previous discussion *** Some residual moisture with a broad northerly flow aloft will continue a slight chance to chance of showers over VTU/L.A. Counties later Mon night. By early Tue it looks like some drier air will move into the area with any leftover showers moving E of the region. However, lingering low level moisture with onshore flow will keep skies partly to mostly cloudy thru the day on Tue. Rainfall amounts for Sun thru Mon night will be highly variable due to the showery nature of the weather system. For now it appears less than 0.25 inch can be expected with most areas receiving just a few hundredths of an inch. Snow levels should drop to as low as 6000 feet by Mon morning, with an isolated inch or two of snow not out of the question for the higher mountain elevations. Plenty of clouds will help to bring cooler temps to the area Sun thru Tue, with highs at least 5 to 10 deg below normal for many areas. The warmest vlys and inland coastal areas on Sun should be in the upper 60s to low 70s, then cool further to the mid to upper 60s on Mon before rebounding slightly to the upper 60s to low 70s for Tue. .LONG TERM (WED-SAT)...04/233 PM. The 12Z GFS and EC are in pretty good agreement with the extended forecast. A upper level trof is expected to move into srn CA from the N on Wed, then another upper level trof should develop over central CA Thu and strengthen into an upper level low near Point Conception by early Fri. This system should drift off to the SE Fri night and be near the lower Colorado River Vly on Sat. A few showers will be possible over extreme eastern L.A. County early Wed, otherwise dry conditions with partly cloudy skies should prevail thru Wed evening. A slight chance of showers is expected for VTU/L.A. Counties later Wed night then spread into the rest of the forecast area on Thu, with a better chance of showers over the mtns Thu afternoon. The upper level low will continue to bring a slight chance to chance of showers over most of the forecast area Thu night thru Sat as well, with the best chance of showers expected in the mtns Fri afternoon and evening. There could also be a few thunderstorms with this system, but being this far out there is a fair amount of uncertainty so will keep thunderstorms out of the fcst for now pending further model runs. Temps are expected to remain several degrees below normal across the region during the extended period. Highs in the warmest vlys and inland coastal areas should be in the mid 60s to around 70 Wed and Thu, in the upper 60s to low 70s Fri, and in the 70s on Sat. && .AVIATION...04/2350Z. At 2340Z, the marine inversion was around 2000 ft deep at KLAX. The top of the inversion was around 4200 ft with a temperature around 16 degrees C. An approaching upper level low pressure system combined with strengthening onshore flow will continue to deepen the marine layer to around 4000 feet by Sunday morning. There will be a chance of showers for areas north of Point Conception on Sunday, with areas of drizzle for areas south of Point Conception on Sunday morning. Ceilings tonight into Sunday morning are generally expected to remain in MVFR category, but could see brief IFR conditions for KSBP, KPRB, and KSMX tonight. Increasing onshore winds at KPMD and KWJF on Sunday, with a 20 percent chance of gusts reaching 35 knots by the afternoon hours. KLAX...Moderate confidence in the 00z TAFs. Mostly expecting MVFR cigs tonight into Sunday morning, with a 30 percent chance of cigs lingering into Sunday afternoon. There will be the potential for drizzle and S-SE winds of 5-7 knots on Sunday morning. KBUR...Moderate confidence in the 00z TAFs. Mostly expecting MVFR cigs overnight into Sunday morning, with a 20 percent chance of brief IFR conditions tonight. There is the potential for drizzle on Sunday morning. && .MARINE...04/751 PM. For the Outer Waters...Moderate to high confidence in the current forecast. Winds and seas should remain under Small Craft Advisory (SCA) thresholds through Wednesday. However, there is a 30% chance of occasional SCA-level gusts around the Channel Islands through late this evening. For the Inner Waters N and S of Point Conception...Generally high confidence in the current forecast. Winds and seas should remain under SCA thresholds through Thursday. && .LOX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... CA...NONE. PZ...NONE. && .HAZARD POTENTIAL OUTLOOK (TUE-SAT). No significant hazards expected. && $$ PUBLIC...Gomberg/Sirard AVIATION...Gomberg MARINE...Smith SYNOPSIS...Stewart weather.gov/losangeles