The unofficial start of summer that comes with Memorial Day weekend won’t be bringing with it weather that is typical of the hottest months. Neither, though, will it be unusually gloomy or cold, and it won’t offer extreme wind or fire conditions.
Call it border-line boring.
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“It’ll be pleasant,” National Weather Service meteorologist Rachel Kennedy said Friday. “But there’s not gonna be a lot to it.”
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Warm temps, winds make for elevated fire danger across North Bay, East Bay
What there will be are mostly sunny skies in the region with some clouds mixed in as the weekend progresses, according to the weather service. The hottest spots in the interior East Bay and North Bay are likely to go no higher than the high 70s. The South Bay region will hold steady in the low 70s, and coastal regions will stick in the 60s and have patchy clouds through Memorial Day, according to the weather service.
There will be cool, breezy winds that occasionally turn gusty, especially toward the coast, but not so much so that the threat of wildfires will increase.
Simply put, it will be a slow and steady repeat of the past few days with little significant change.
“It’s actually gonna be a bit below normal in terms of temperatures,” Kennedy said. “You might have one of two places in the far interior or way up north that might reach the low 80s but that’s as hot as it’s gonna get anywhere.”
According to Kennedy, an upper level trough has begun a surge through the region, creating a “zonal flow” amid the high pressure that has kept the pressure from stacking and creating a ridge. Thus, the cool air has not been kept away.
“When we have that kind of set-up, as we do now, it holds the trend (of the weather) steady,” Kennedy said.
That trend will keep the temperatures in the 40s and 50s at night. It’s expected to be extremely cold in Napa County, and the weather service urged travelers to this weekend’s annual Bottlerock Napa Valley music festival to dress in layers at night.
The pattern will not begin to change until later next week, Kennedy said. Weather service forecasters expect the change in the trough’s flow to occur Wednesday heading into Thursday, paving the way for hotter temperatures into next weekend.
By the final days of the month, some interior areas can expect to see temperatures exceeding 90 degrees, according to the weather service, while areas such as the South Bay may shoot up into the mid to high 80s.
That increase in temperature will likely increase the fire danger. On Friday, that low-level danger was “kind of holding steady,” Kennedy said. Winds were expected to be gusting up to 20-25 mph along the coast.
“The grasses are drying,” Kennedy said. “It doesn’t take much to start a fire in those grasses, even when the conditions are cooler and the winds calm down a bit.”
The conditions figured to be safe for weekend activities such as mowing the lawn that can create fire danger in hotter weather.
“This is a good time to go outside and enjoy it,” Kennedy said of the weather. “It’s going to be quite comfortable.”
