Warming trend to come next week to the Bay Area

(KRON) — Satellite imagery shows a system just off the coast of northern California, which could bring a few showers to the northern parts of Sonoma County.

The pattern starts to change significantly Saturday night. A ridge builds over the West Coast and amplifies through Monday; this will produce a warmer air mass.  Surface temperatures will climb above normal by Sunday, and well above normal Monday – Tuesday. But how much above normal is the question. 

Coastal temperatures are highly dependent on wind direction. The current forecast suggests onshore winds Sunday will gradually shift to offshore Monday as the ridge moves inland and a coastal trough develops. A resulting offshore flow will be fighting the smaller scale influence of the sea breeze, which will encourage cooler onshore flow. At this point it’s not clear which forcing will dominate, it’s likely that the temperatures will climb quickly through mid-day under offshore winds and quickly drop in the afternoon as the sea breeze takes over. 

Inland temperatures are likely to reach the upper-70s along the coast and mid-80s, which would make it the warmest day of the year so far for most locations, and it will be noticeable change. With clear skies and light winds, Sunday through Tuesday will be a good period to spend some time outdoors, but beachgoers should be on the alert for sneaker waves. As always, never turn your back on the ocean. The sea breeze cooling, combined with clear skies at night, will allow the minimum temperatures to drop to the upper 40s or low 50s at night, which will keep HeatRisk in the minor category from Monday through Tuesday.

After the warm stretch, more mild temperatures return by the middle of the week. There is a weak disturbance on Wednesday throughThursday that could bring some light rain to the North Bay and gusty winds.

​(KRON) — Satellite imagery shows a system just off the coast of northern California, which could bring a few showers to the northern parts of Sonoma County. The pattern starts to change significantly Saturday night. A ridge builds over the West Coast and amplifies through Monday; this will produce a warmer air mass. Surface temperatures […]