Bay Area to Warm Up in Time for a Short Summer Fling

Don’t stash away your summer swimsuit, sunscreen and towel just yet; Bay Area summer is almost here. After a week of gloomy weather, forecasters expect the region to warm up this weekend.

The warm-up will likely come as the low-pressure system that has been enveloping the region in gloomy, muggy, and rainy weather is displaced by a high-pressure system. Although the transition to hotter days will be gradual, forecasters said temperatures could spike if offshore winds present themselves early next week.

Dial Hoang, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service’s Bay Area office, said temperatures could reach the 70s in San Francisco and the 80s in inland areas such as Napa by Sunday. If the high-pressure system develops as models suggest, Hoang said the region could experience a few days of summertime temperatures, but he doesn’t expect extreme heat.

“We might see the temperatures reach the upper 80s in downtown Oakland, and for San Francisco, we might get into the mid-80s,” Hoang said.

By Tuesday, inland areas such as Walnut Creek could reach the low 90s.

The high-pressure system forming isn’t the same as the type that creates record-breaking heat, but it will still likely push the marine layer farther out to sea, allowing for offshore winds to bring hotter days to the region.

Hoang said the warm-up is typical for what people call “Bay Area summer,” when the warmest temperatures of the year usually occur.

“If we do get that offshore flow, we might just see temperatures rising above what we currently expect,” Hoang said.

However, the heat is likely to last only a few days. Meteorologists wrote in Friday’s daily forecast discussion that while the end of the week’s weather is still “kind of fantasy land at this point,” another round of rain could be in the picture for the end of the week and into next weekend.

“It’s worth keeping an eye on,” forecasters wrote. “Timing would be bad from a fire weather standpoint as warmer weather develops over the weekend and peaks early next week.”