More Hot Weather Is Coming to the Bay Area. Here’s How Long It Will Last

After a cooler weekend, the Bay Area is heating up again this week, with temperatures starting to tick upward Monday and reach triple digits in some inland areas by Tuesday.

Conditions are expected to rival those reported during last week’s heat wave in some areas, though the warm weather will be shorter-lived, only lasting through Thursday. During the warming event, meteorologists said there will be an increased risk of grass fires, similar to those that started during last week’s heat.

On Monday, some inland areas are expected to reach the upper 90s, while more coastal regions will hit the high 70s to low 80s. Directly along the coastline, temperatures will remain cool in the low 60s, and evening breezes are anticipated to sweep through most of the bay, resulting in mild overnight conditions.

Tuesday should be the warmest this week. Areas that will see the highest temperatures are higher elevation inland areas, including the northern parts of Napa and Sonoma counties, as well as the most inland areas of Alameda and Contra Costa counties. There, temperatures could reach the low 100s, according to the latest forecast discussion from the National Weather Service’s Bay Area office.

The weather service has issued a heat advisory that will go into effect at 11 a.m. Tuesday and last through 8 p.m. in inland areas. People sensitive to heat are encouraged to drink lots of water and limit outdoor activities during the hottest parts of the day.

During the dry afternoon heat in those inland areas, there will be an increased risk for grass fires, according to Dylan Flynn, a meteorologist for the weather service’s Bay Area office. Last week, under similar conditions, the Corral Fire burned more than 14,000 acres in Alameda and San Joaquin counties.

“We’re nowhere near red flag conditions; we don’t have offshore winds, and the winds that we do have aren’t going to be that strong,” Flynn told KQED. “However, the temperature is getting well above normal, especially for inland areas, and grass responds to that very quickly. Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday afternoon, we are concerned about that.”

The rest of the Bay Area will also feel the heat mid-week, with temperatures about 10 to 15 degrees above average. San Francisco is expected to reach the mid-to-high 70s and Oakland the low 80s on Tuesday. Both areas have slightly lower highs on Wednesday.

Flynn said that heat results from two areas of high pressure in the northeast and northwest that are expected to meet in Northern California.

It won’t necessarily be beach weather, he said, since coastal temperatures are expected to remain pretty average throughout the week due to onshore winds. Peak temperatures are expected to be in the low 70s along the coast on Tuesday.

The Bay Area will begin to cool down Thursday, and more mild temperatures are expected to last through the weekend before warm weather returns next week.