Most of Bay Area to stay dry through rest of weekend

Dry conditions are expected across most of the Bay Area through the end of the weekend, extending December’s disappointing rainfall totals.

If there’s any precipitation at all in the next couple of days, meteorologists say, it will be limited to brief showers in Monterey and Santa Cruz counties this evening. The Bay Area is expected to stay dry.

A prolonged stretch of reduced rainfall has not relented for much of December, which is typically one of the wettest months of the year. A promised Christmas Day storm fell short of expectations besides some wind gusts and light rain.

“Truthfully, we’re hurting for rainfall,” said Cindy Palmer of the National Weather Service’s Bay Area office. “If the dry conditions continue, probably the biggest impact will be on our water supply.”

Since Oct. 1, San Jose has received just 18% of its usual rainfall, Oakland has 24%, San Francisco 30% and Concord 25%.

The brief Christmas Day spurt of rain hardly made a dent in those numbers, bringing 0.14 inches to Oakland and about a third of an inch to San Jose and San Francisco.

Conditions were wetter in the North Bay over the weekend, with Sonoma receiving about a full inch of precipitation. Santa Rosa and Napa have 35% and 31%, respectively, of typical rainfall since Oct. 1.

But the rainy system wasn’t enough for a region that has been parched for months. And with the showers shifting toward the Central Valley, it’s unlikely Bay Area residents will get any significant splash in the coming days.

“We may see a sprinkle, maybe a hundredth, but I really don’t think we’re going to have much measurable rain,” Palmer said. “Most of it has kicked out to the east.”

Meanwhile, temperatures in the coming week will return to normal winter conditions af ter sinking to chillier depths at times during the past month. Most of the Bay Area will average in the high 50s degree to low 60s range. Overnight temperatures are expected to hover around the low 40s.

As the Christmas Day storm swelled and then fizzled, much of the region briefly saw sharper, more audible winds. That may continue over the weekend, Palmer said, but should normalize by Monday.

“We could see some gusty winds (today )as the (rainy) system moves inland, with gusts around the 20- to 26 mph range,” she said.