No rain in sight; record-setting warm days possible
A conveyor belt of atmospheric rivers that filled reservoirs across Northern California and blanketed the Sierra Nevada with snow last year have been replaced in 2018 by a recurring ridge of high pressure that is bouncing storm systems north to the Pacific Northwest.
A ridge of high-pressure building about 600 miles west of Los Angeles is expected to keep California dry for the next several days, according to the National Weather Service in Monterey. Not only is there no rain in the extended February forecast, meteorologists with the weather ser- vice say the Bay Area could experience record-high temperatures this weekend, with daytime highs soaring into the upper-70s.
“That high pressure is going to allow for continued warmth through the first week of February, with virtually no rain chances through at least Feb. 11,” said Scott Rowe, a meteorologist with the weather service. “Un- til we see the ridge break down, virtually no rain chances are expected.”
The warm-up began Thursday, with temperatures in the upper60s tomid-70s, saidRick Canepa, a meteorologist with the weather service. San Jose posted a new daily heat record of 74 degrees, 2 degrees warmer than the previous
“The dry start, the December deficit really added up. We definitely did not dig our selves out of that.” — Scott Rowe, meteorologist
high set in 1982. Other records fell in Livermore (74 degrees), HalfMoon Bay (74 degrees) and at San Francisco International Airport (73 degrees).
Temperatures are expected to be warmer Friday and Saturday. Canepa said some spots could reach 80 degrees.
“It’s going to feel like May,” he said.
One of the driest Decembers on record in California put the entire state in an early rainfall deficit for this water year, which be- ganOct. 1. Despite a wetter than average January, rainfall totals throughout California remain below average for this time of year, including San Francisco (64 percent of normal), Oakland (69 percent), Santa Rosa (62 percent) and San Jose (58 percent).
Those percentages will continue to fall during this extended stretch of dry weather of February, which is typically one of the three wettest months of the year.
“The dry start, the December deficit really added up,” Rowe said. “We definitely did not dig ourselves out of that.”
The weather service said some models suggest signs of a strong jet energy eventually breaking down the ridge of high pressure, but that could be a few weeks away.
“It appears a high probability we will essentially lose the first two weeks of February for any rain potential,” the weather service wrote in its daily forecast.