Weather Alerts for California

Recent Locations: Baptistown, NJ Laconia, NH Point Arena, CA

Current Alerts for Point Arena, CA: Cold Weather Advisory

1. Avalanche Warning for: Greater Lake Tahoe Area; Greater Lake Tahoe Area

2. Beach Hazards Statement for: Santa Barbara County Southwestern Coast; Santa Barbara County Southeastern Coast

3. Coastal Flood Advisory for: San Luis Obispo County Beaches; Santa Barbara County Central Coast Beaches

4. Coastal Flood Advisory for: Ventura County Beaches

5. Cold Weather Advisory for: North Bay Interior Mountains; North Bay Interior Valleys; Southern Salinas Valley/Arroyo Seco and Lake San Antonio

6. Cold Weather Advisory for: Santa Cruz Mountains; Santa Clara Valley Including San Jose

7. Cold Weather Advisory for: Southeastern Mendocino Interior; Southern Lake County

8. Extreme Cold Warning for: Eastern Santa Clara Hills

9. Extreme Cold Warning for: Santa Lucia Mountains and Los Padres National Forest; Mountains Of San Benito County And Interior Monterey County Including Pinnacles National Park

10. High Surf Advisory for: Malibu Coast; Los Angeles County Beaches

11. High Surf Advisory for: San Diego County Coastal Areas; Orange County Coastal

12. High Surf Advisory for: San Francisco; Coastal North Bay Including Point Reyes National Seashore; San Francisco Peninsula Coast; Northern Monterey Bay; Southern Monterey Bay and Big Sur Coast

13. High Surf Advisory for: San Luis Obispo County Beaches; Santa Barbara County Central Coast Beaches

14. High Surf Advisory for: Ventura County Beaches

15. Wind Advisory for: Apple and Lucerne Valleys

16. Wind Advisory for: Coachella Valley

17. Wind Advisory for: Imperial County Southwest

18. Wind Advisory for: Joshua Tree NP West; Joshua Tree NP East; Salton Sea; Chuckwalla Mountains; Imperial County West; Chiriaco Summit; Palo Verde Valley; Chuckwalla Valley

19. Wind Advisory for: Northern Sacramento Valley; Central Sacramento Valley; Southern Sacramento Valley

20. Wind Advisory for: San Diego County Deserts

21. Wind Advisory for: San Gorgonio Pass Near Banning

22. Wind Advisory for: Santa Barbara County Southeastern Coast; Santa Ynez Mountains Eastern Range

23. Wind Advisory for: West Side Mountains north of 198; West Side Mountains South of 198; Buena Vista; Indian Wells Valley; Mojave Desert Slopes; Mojave Desert

24. Wind Advisory for: Western Mojave Desert; Eastern Mojave Desert, Including the Mojave National Preserve; Morongo Basin

25. Winter Storm Warning for: Grapevine

26. Winter Storm Warning for: Mariposa-Madera Lower Sierra; Fresno-Tulare Lower Sierra; South End of the Lower Sierra; Yosemite NP outside of the valley; Yosemite Valley; San Joaquin River Canyon; Upper San Joaquin River; Kaiser to Rodgers Ridge; Kings Canyon NP; Grant Grove Area; Sequoia NP; South End of the Upper Sierra

27. Winter Storm Warning for: Northern Ventura County Mountains; Eastern San Gabriel Mountains

28. Winter Storm Warning for: Piute Walker Basin; Tehachapi; Frazier Mountain Communities

29. Winter Storm Warning for: Riverside County Mountains

30. Winter Storm Warning for: San Bernardino County Mountains

31. Winter Storm Warning for: Santa Barbara County Interior Mountains; Southern Ventura County Mountains; Interstate 5 Corridor

32. Winter Storm Warning for: Shasta Lake Area / Northern Shasta County; Burney Basin / Eastern Shasta County; Northern Sacramento Valley; Mountains Southwestern Shasta County to Western Colusa County; Northeast Foothills/Sacramento Valley; Motherlode; Western Plumas County/Lassen Park; West Slope Northern Sierra Nevada

33. Winter Storm Warning for: South Central Siskiyou County; North Central and Southeast Siskiyou County

34. Winter Storm Warning for: Western San Gabriel Mountains and Highway 14 Corridor; Western Antelope Valley Foothills; Eastern Antelope Valley Foothills

35. Winter Storm Warning for: Western Siskiyou County

36. Winter Weather Advisory for: Central Siskiyou County

37. Winter Weather Advisory for: Eastern Santa Clara Hills

38. Winter Weather Advisory for: Lassen-Eastern Plumas-Eastern Sierra Counties; Greater Lake Tahoe Area; Mono; Greater Lake Tahoe Area

39. Winter Weather Advisory for: Northeast Siskiyou and Northwest Modoc Counties; Modoc County; Klamath Basin; Northern and Eastern Klamath County and Western Lake County; Central and Eastern Lake County

40. Winter Weather Advisory for: San Diego County Mountains

41. Winter Weather Advisory for: Santa Lucia Mountains and Los Padres National Forest; Mountains Of San Benito County And Interior Monterey County Including Pinnacles National Park

Want more detail? Get the Complete 7 Day and Night Detailed Forecast!

Current U.S. National Radar--Current

The Current National Weather Radar is shown below with a UTC Time (subtract 5 hours from UTC to get Eastern Time).

National Weather Forecast--Current

The Current National Weather Forecast and National Weather Map are shown below.

National Weather Forecast for Tomorrow

Tomorrow National Weather Forecast and Tomorrow National Weather Map are show below.

North America Water Vapor (Moisture)

This map shows recent moisture content over North America. Bright and colored areas show high moisture (ie, clouds); brown indicates very little moisture present; black indicates no moisture.

Weather Topic: What is Sleet?

Home - Education - Precipitation - Sleet

Sleet Next Topic: Snow

Sleet is a form of precipitation in which small ice pellets are the primary components. These ice pellets are smaller and more translucent than hailstones, and harder than graupel. Sleet is caused by specific atmospheric conditions and therefore typically doesn't last for extended periods of time.

The condition which leads to sleet formation requires a warmer body of air to be wedged in between two sub-freezing bodies of air. When snow falls through a warmer layer of air it melts, and as it falls through the next sub-freezing body of air it freezes again, forming ice pellets known as sleet. In some cases, water droplets don't have time to freeze before reaching the surface and the result is freezing rain.

Next Topic: Snow

Weather Topic: What are Stratocumulus Clouds?

Home - Education - Cloud Types - Stratocumulus Clouds

Next Topic: Stratus Clouds

Stratocumulus clouds are similar to altocumulus clouds in their fluffy appearance, but have a slightly darker shade due to their additional mass.

A good way to distinguish the two cloud types is to hold your hand out and measure the size of an individual cloud; if it is the size of your thumb it is generally an altocumulus cloud, if it is the size of your hand it is generally a stratocumulus cloud.

It is uncommon for stratocumulus clouds to produce precipitation, but if they do it is usually a light rain or snow.

Next Topic: Stratus Clouds