‘Thirst-inducing’ temperatures to overtake the Bay Area. How hot is it expected to get where you live?
Toasty temperatures are expected to stick around until Friday, the National Weather Service said.
An early spring heat wave continues to grip the Bay Area, expected to ramp up temperatures into the 80s and 90s for most of the region Thursday before cooling off by the weekend, according to the National Weather Service.
The toasty weather began Wednesday due to a ridge of high pressure and offshore winds keeping humidity levels low and temperatures about 15 to 20 degrees above normal. The hot weather is expected to hit its peak Thursday, with areas of the Santa Clara Valley swelling to 95 degrees, while more inland areas like Livermore could climb to 92. Meanwhile, it could be cooler — around the 70s and 80s — along the shoreline.
A similar heat wave during this time of year occurred in 1989, making it a close call in terms of breaking any temperature records Thursday. It could surge to 92 degrees in Livermore, 96 degrees in Gilroy and 89 degrees in Oakland, surpassing the 1989 records of 89, 94 and 87 degrees, respectively. Meanwhile, Thursday’s temperatures could tie with records of 93 degrees in San Jose, 90 in Santa Rosa and 92 degrees in Redwood City.
“It’s a spring heat event that will be punctuated by dramatic cool-down,” said NWS forecaster Brian Garcia. “I would say it’s thirst-inducing.”
People should take breaks, stay hydrated, avoid outside activities during the mid-day peak and never leave any animals or people inside their cars, according to the weather service.
Forecasters don’t predict the bout of unseasonably warm weather to stick around for long.
The upper level ridge is expected to drift eastward Friday and coupled with the onset of onshore winds, temperatures could drop five to 15 degrees, into the 60s and 70s along the coast and the 70s and near 90 in inland areas. Saturday and Sunday are expected to be another five to 10 degrees cooler. By Monday, forecasters say it’ll be 20 to 25 degrees colder than it was Thursday.
Think it was warm today? Get ready because it'll be even hotter tomorrow! Remember to practice heat safety. Hydrate, wear light-colored clothing, and avoid outdoor activities during the afternoon if possible. #cawx pic.twitter.com/JA34gcE2pC
— NWS Bay Area
(@NWSBayArea) April 7, 2022
A burst of offshore winds during the weekend could bring gusts up to 70 to 80 miles per hour in the North Bay and East Bay hills, as well as across the Santa Cruz mountains. The strong winds could also heighten the chances of wildfire risk, although Garcia says recent storms have luckily soaked through some of the fuels.
“With these type of winds and low relative humidity, the only other piece of the equation is what the fuel moistures are like,” he said. “Fuels are showing some degree of moisture in them, because of the last rains we had, so there’s only a marginal concern of fire weather risk.”
The next shot of rain could come early Monday morning, although chances remain relatively low and the system is expected to stay north of the Bay Area. Due to the dry cold front through the weekend, some light snow could fall across the East Bay hills and the higher elevations of the Big Sur region, including the Santa Lucia range, Monday into Tuesday.
“We’re just getting the tail end of a system as it passes through the Pacific Northwest. It could clip us,” Garcia said. “But we’ll take any rain that we can get.”
Despite massive atmospheric river storms in October and December and the recent respite of March rainstorms, fuels have reached moisture levels normally seen in early June, stoking the chances for year-round wildfire risk. The Sierra Nevada snowpack, which accounts for 30% of the state’s water supply, has hit one of its lowest levels in 70 years, reaching 30% of normal on Wednesday. By this time last year, the snowpack was 51% of normal.
The U.S. Drought Monitor also reported Thursday that about 94% of California is in “severe drought,” an increase from 87% from about a month ago, while about 41% of the state is in “extreme drought,” the most dire stage, up from 13%. Extreme drought has spread to the North Coast, and all nine Bay Area counties are currently in a severe drought.
“We’re obviously behind on rainfall for the season and as we go into the season deeper and deeper, the normal amounts of rain get less and less anyway,” Garcia said. “For example, the odds of us reaching normal rainfall for the water year by the end of the water year, which is Sept. 30, in San Jose is 1.82%.”
Seven inches of rain has fallen in San Jose since the water year began Oct. 1, compared to the 12.02 inches the city typically receives by this time of year. Based on historic averages, San Jose usually gets 13.48 inches during the entire water year.
“It’s not looking good for us to even come close to reaching normal,” Garcia said. “We’ll end up dry and have a dry summer.”