Marine Weather and Tide Forecast for Crescent City, CA

DISCUSSION
A warming trend starts for most of the CWA today as high pressure takes control of area conditions. Daytime highs west of the Cascades and into northern Klamath County will increase by 5 to 10 degrees from Sunday. Other areas farther east will see similar temperatures continue today. Warming continues on Tuesday as a ridge axis moves over the area. In general, temperatures on Tuesday look to be 5 to 15 degrees above normal for most areas. The Oregon coast will be in the mid 70s to low 80s. Temperatures increase heading inland, with the Umpqua Valley expected to be in the high 90s to the low triple digits. Other west side valleys will be in the 100-110 degrees range. Valleys and basins to the east will be in the high 80s to mid 90s this afternoon. For west side areas, these general temperatures are expected through Thursday. Areas east of the Cascades warm to the mid to high 90s on Wednesday, with those temperatures continuing into Friday. In addition to these elevated daytime highs, overnight lows will also rise 5 to 10 degrees above normal through the heat wave. Models have narrowed their forecast ranges somewhat. Using Medford as an example, chances to reach 110 degrees are absent from GFS, ECMWF, and NBM guidance.

These expected conditions will bring Moderate to Major levels of HeatRisk to west side valleys, and generally moderate HeatRisk to east side valleys and basins. At Major levels, anyone without cooling or hydration may experience heat-related illnesses. These conditions support a Heat Advisory already in place for west side valleys, while east side areas may see Heat Advisories for their warmer period starting Wednesday. Although Major levels and associated warning products are currently limited to valley floors, please do not underestimate the heat in any area. See NPWMFR for more information.

A change to high pressure looks to bring surface winds from the north during the day and from the east overnight. With ongoing wildfires to the north and northeast, this change in winds could bring smoke concerns back to the ares. For this morning, smoke generally looks to be slight to moderate east of the Cascades and slight to the west. Smoke models show increased concentrations moving across the area from north to south this afternoon into tonight, then settling as breezes decrease. While significant daytime cooling is unlikely, the combination of warm to hot conditions and poor air quality may be especially uncomfortable for sensitive individuals.

Additionally, dry conditions and gusty wind patterns are bringing significant fire weather concerns through the heat wave. Please see the FIRE WEATHER discussion below or RFWMFR for more information. In short, especially warm and dry conditions can further dry vegetation out and periods of gusty winds can carry ignited material. Please consider extra caution to minimize any activity that can ignite a fire.

More seasonable temperatures are possible to end the week and into the weekend as the ridge axis shifts out of the area, with deterministic imagery showing an upper trough developing along the Pacific coast by Sunday. While atmospheric instability and thunderstorms are sometimes a concern after heat waves, current modeling shows that atmospheric moisture is limited as southwest flow aloft would continue to bring dry air. -TAD



AVIATION
03/12Z TAFs...Stable atmospheric conditions are allowing VFR levels to generally persist across northern Oregon and southern California through the TAF period. A thermal trough will bring gusty winds along the Oregon coast and into the Umpqua Valley this afternoon and evening before winds ease into the night. Surface winds look to move wildfire smoke into the area this afternoon and evening, which may periodically impact visibilities at area terminals. -TAD

MARINE
Updated 300 AM PDT Monday, August 3, 2026...Gusty northerly winds continue across area waters today. Gale force winds and very steep seas remain south of Cape Blanco through tonight, with steep seas to the north. Winds drop out of gale ranges on Tuesday, but very steep seas to the south and steep seas to the north persist. By Wednesday, southern waters improve slightly.
Areas of steep seas look to continue through the end of the week.
-TAD

FIRE WEATHER
Updated 100 PM PDT Sunday, August 2, 2026...
Upper level ridging will build in quickly along with a thermal trough at the surface, resulting in a very warm and very dry week ahead.

The strengthening thermal trough in northern California and SW Oregon will result in a period of offshore N-NE winds for the coast ranges and mountains of western Siskiyou County tonight. For early this morning, model 925-850 winds are in the 25-30kt range. This should result in some gusty winds (25-30 mph) at the usual locations in vicinity of the thermal belts (perhaps gusts to 40 mph in the windiest spots). Observations from area RAWs do show gusty winds continuing, especially at higher elevations. Aligning with the Chetco River, these winds will descend resulting in compressional warming/drying all the way to the coast near Brookings (FWZ 618)
on Monday. Look for elevated fire risk there and into FWZ 619 with highs in the 80s, low humidity and gusty NE breezes. The N-NE breezes could also align with the Illinois Valley (FWZ 620) and funnel through the Rogue Valley (FWZ622) this afternoon/early evening, with critical conditions likely.

For tonight, poor RH recoveries are expected across all of SW Oregon and northern California upper slopes/ridges. Some guidance is showing RH only recovering into the low 20s (upper teens?!) Tuesday through Thursday, while daytime minimum humidities could easily drop into the single digit percentages. Fortunately, winds will diminish some form the previous day. With these hot, dry, and windy conditions continuing Monday into Tuesday with little improvement overnight, a Red Flag has been issued for the Illinois and Rogue valleys, as well as the Siskiyous and southern Oregon Cascades, beginning Monday afternoon and continuing into Tuesday evening.
Current model guidance shows only minimal improvement in wind and humidity Tuesday night into Wednesday, so the Red Flag may need to be extended further into the week. Outside of the Red Flag Warning area, conditions will still be hot, dry, and windy, with conditions approaching critical values at times.

MFR WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES
OR...Red Flag Warning from 2 PM this afternoon to 9 PM PDT Tuesday for ORZ620>623.

Heat Advisory from 11 AM Tuesday to 11 PM PDT Thursday for ORZ023-024-026.

CA...Heat Advisory from 11 AM Tuesday to 11 PM PDT Thursday for CAZ080.

PACIFIC COASTAL WATERS...Small Craft Advisory until 11 PM PDT this evening for PZZ356.

Hazardous Seas Warning from 11 PM this evening to 9 PM PDT Tuesday for PZZ356-376.

Small Craft Advisory until 9 PM PDT Tuesday for PZZ350-370.

Gale Warning until 11 PM PDT this evening for PZZ356-376.