A child runs through a waterfall while staying cool at the Antioch Water Park in Antioch, Calif., on Saturday, July 15, 2023. The Bay Area is experiencing an excessive heat warning this weekend. Antioch is expected to reach a 102 degrees by 5 p.m. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group)
Scientists say that July was the hottest recorded month in human history, and while it didn’t exactly feel that way in the Bay Area, portions of the region will get a taste of triple-digit temperatures on the first weekend of August, according to the National Weather Service.
“Through the weekend, temperatures are warming up sharply,” said NWS meteorologist Rick Canepa. “(We’ll see) three days of warming up and then cooling returning next week.”
Temperatures were forecast to rise the highest in inland cities out in Contra Costa County and other parts of the East Bay. On Saturday, highs in those areas include 96 degrees in Walnut Creek, 96 in Concord, 94 in Livermore and 90 in Dublin.
On Sunday, those temperatures could clear triple digits with blistering days anticipated. NWS predictions included 98 in Walnut Creek, 101 in Concord, 98 in Livermore and 94 in Dublin.
Other parts of the region anticipated warm but less stifling weekend numbers. Forecast highs for Saturday across the rest of the Bay Area included 84 in San Jose and Fremont, 80 in Hayward, 74 in Oakland, 69 in San Francisco and 85 in Palo Alto. Sunday temperatures were expected to be about four or five degrees higher in each city.
Heads up! Things will warm up through the weekend, with high temperatures reaching the 90s to mid 100s in the inland areas. Stay hydrated, take breaks in the shade, and never leave children or pets in unattended vehicles!! #CAwx pic.twitter.com/L7vaBwgpmQ
— NWS Bay Area
(@NWSBayArea) August 4, 2023
Monday temperatures were forecast to begin the drop back down, with numbers nearly mirroring Saturday’s in most places. By Tuesday, many Contra Costa County and East Bay temperatures were expected to return to the mid-80s while areas closer to the Bay return to the 60s and 70s.
The brief heat wave is still a far cry from other places around the world that are experiencing record-setting weather. According to NWS Phoenix, the southwestern capital city of Arizona has seen 35 days above 110 degrees already in 2023, second only to 2020 in a recorded year, which saw 53. According to the Associated Press, heat waves in Europe have turned deadly as uncharacteristic triple-digit days have rocked Italy, Greece and Spain.
— NWS Bay Area
While those places set records, the Bay Area has seen below-average temperatures for the summer season, Canepa said.
“We’ve been seeing triple digits but what’s rather amazing is that we haven’t really had hardly a record high, given the strength of the overall, larger scale pattern,” he said. “So it’s an interesting, strong contrast between the hot weather in the short term and the cooler relatively longer term.”
While the mild summer so far can be chalked up to a multitude of reasons, Canepa said that an ongoing and strong maritime influence of winds from the northwest have contributed. The winds have contributed to a surface sea temperature about one to three degrees below normal, and the water vapor rising from the ocean has been pushed past the coast by those winds.
“Lots of water vapor interacting with chilly-to-cold sea surface temperatures (contribute to the mild summer),” Canepa said, adding that the vapor and winds are a reason for heavy fogs on the coast and around San Francisco. “That’s pretty much what we see in any given summer here, so it’s usual in that sense.”
Canepa added that an offset from high-pressure systems throughout the Southwest has contributed as well.
The ongoing pattern looks to be uninterrupted throughout the next week, but Canepa didn’t rule out the possibility of the Bay Area catching up with the rest of the world in coming weeks and months.
“(After the next week) if the pattern sort of shifts a little bit, if things decrease a little bit and there’s not as much northwesterly winds, then maybe that cold water front will diminish a little bit and start to bring warmer temperatures,” Canepa said.
Originally published at Austin Turner