The National Weather Service (NWS) has issued a Heat Advisory through Thursday that, thankfully, does not include San Francisco or the East Bay. Even so, temperatures will soar into the 90s and beyond in other parts of the Bay Area, and the rest of Northern California threatens to break into triple digits.
Until 8 p.m. Thursday, NWS warns of potentially dangerous temperatures in “the southern Salinas Valley and Mountains of Monterey ans San Benito Counties,” with forecasts throughout the northern part of the state seeing “highs in the upper 90s to low 100s, with hottest locations up to 110 degrees.”
“Warm to hot temperatures will increase the risk of human sourced wildfires,” the forecast adds, including in the Yosemite region, which will factor these hellish temperatures into the already complicated mix created by ongoing wildfires.
A Heat Advisory means “a period of hot temperatures is expected. The combination of hot temperatures and high humidity will combine to create a situation in which heat illnesses are possible.”
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NWS advises those in the affected areas to “drink plenty of fluids, stay in an air-conditioned room, stay out of the sun, and check up on relatives and neighbors.”
The only potentially good news is that the map of the Heat Advisory circles the Bay Area like a wreath but doesn’t quite touch the region, coming as close as Hollister in the south and Stockton to the east.
However, this is potentially misleading, as the next few days have punishing temperatures on tap throughout Bay Area counties as well. AccuWeather predicts Contra Costa County may hit 96 on Wednesday and keep in the 90s all week long.
Similarly, Napa may hit 94 on Wednesday, while Santa Rosa may suffer highs of 92.
These temperatures are not quite bad enough to warrant an advisory but still carry some of the same risks, and residents should heed similar cautions, particularly on Wednesday, which is looking to be the hottest day of the week and one of the hottest all month.
For the record, the forecast in San Francisco calls for a high of just 71 on Wednesday and then 70s all the rest of the week.
- Heat Advisory [NWS]
- Fire Threatens Yosemite [Curbed SF]
- Contra Costa County Forecast [AccuWeather]
- Napa Forecast
- Santa Rosa Forecast
- San Francisco Forecast