You may reach for the Chapstick this week.
The San Francisco Bay Area is forecast to be hot and dry at the start of the week with desiccating winds picking up and relative humidity levels dropping into the teens, according to the National Weather Service.
As a high pressure system builds over the West Coast Monday, the ocean sea breeze, Mother' Nature's air-conditioner, is expected to subside. Northerly winds were blowing in the hills Monday morning and are expected to persist into Tuesday.
The offshore winds blow hot air from inland areas toward the coast and are known for pushing up temperatures and drying out the landscape, essentially sucking the moisture out of the vegetation and leaving it tinder-dry and vulnerable to burning.
The offshore winds will be strongest to the east of the Bay Area in the Central Valley where a red flag warning is in effect. The warning is only in effect in Solano County in the Bay Area.
"Some of the good news for the Bay Area is the strongest offshore winds will be over the Central Valley," said Gerry Diaz, a forecaster with the weather service. "We only expect offshore winds in the Bay Area above 1,500 feet. Right now across the entire area, we have some of those winds over 2,000 feet, winds getting into the 30 to 40 mph mark."
Early Monday, wind gusts in the hills were mostly in the 25 to 35 mph range, but a 55 mph gust knocked Mount St. Helena at the 4,000 feet elevation.
Diaz added that while Monday and Tuesday will be dry in the rest of the Bay Area, humidity values aren't expected to reach the threshold that triggers a red flag warning.
A warming trend running into Wednesday will push temperatures up to 15 degrees above normal. Inland highs are forecast to be in the 80s and lower 90s Monday and Tuesday, and slightly cooler Wednesday, with afternoon highs ranging from 80 to 85 degrees.
Coastal temperatures are forecast to be mostly in the 60s and 70s, although Santa Cruz could reach 80 degrees.
"Tuesday will be the hottest day out of the three days we expect the warmer temperatures," said Diaz. "Tuesday will be the day where we have the highest likelihood of a few places hitting 90 degrees, including locations above 1,500 feet in the North Bay, parts of the East Bay such as Livermore and Concord, and spots along the 101 corridor in the South Bay such as Gilroy."
The sea breeze along the coast will be "very limited" but strong enough to keep immediate coastal locations in the 60s and 70s.
The high pressure ridge is forecast to weaken Wednesday afternoon and the sea breeze will strengthen, bringing cooling to the region. Inland highs will drop into the 70s on Thursday while coastal spots are expected to be in the low 60s.
46 mph
May 03, 2021 at 11:07PM
https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/2021-04-San-Francisco-Bay-Area-weather-forecast-16147316.php
Why it's going to be hot and dry in the SF Bay Area today - SF Gate
https://news.google.com/search?q=dry&hl=en-US&gl=US&ceid=US:en
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