Freezing temperatures on tap for Bay Area; snow to hit Sierra Nevada
Freezing nighttime temperatures are expected to grip much of Northern California early this week, prompting officials to open warming shelters to protect unhoused people from the threat of hypothermia.
The blast of cold air is forecast to continue into at least Wednesday morning, dropping overnight temperatures to 32 degrees or colder in parts of the Bay Area. To the east, howling winds are expected to accompany snow showers that could drop several inches of fresh powder early this week over the Sierra Nevada.
The National Weather Service issued a freeze warning for most inland portions of the Bay Area until at least 9 a.m. today. A frost warning also was issued for other portions of the Bay Area closer to the Pacific coast or the San Francisco Bay shoreline, due to overnight temperatures that could drop below 36 degrees.
The coldest areas should include the Santa Clara Valley, the Santa Cruz Mountains, the East Bay hills and the inland East Bay valleys, the weather service said. Low temperatures had been expected to reach 30 Sunday night in San Jose before dipping to 29 tonight. Oakland had been forecast to drop to 35 degrees on Sunday night, while Pittsburg was expected to reach 33 degrees. Both cities should experience lows in the 30s for at least the next couple days.
“That's definitely a concern, because temperatures being that cold over multiple days are particularly dangerous for folks who are unsheltered,” said Sean Miller, a National Weather Service meteorologist.
Warmer coastal winds might help raise temperatures slightly along the Pacific Ocean. San Francisco had been forecast to reach a low temperature of 38 degrees Sunday night, with overnight temperatures remaining in the high 30s and low 40s for much of the week.
A few scattered, light showers had been forecast to grace the Bay Area on Sunday — particularly south of the Golden Gate Bridge and along the Peninsula — though rainfall totals were expected to be paltry at best.
“It's a pretty moisturestarved system,” Miller said.
Several warming shelters are expected to remain in service through the early part of this week, including a dozen daytime warming centers across Santa Clara County. Anyone seeking information about overnight warming locations can call a county hotline at 408-385-2400 from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. for placement.
In Alameda County, around 10 emergency shelters and warming centers were expected to open for people seeking refuge from the cold. In West Oakland, for example, the St. Vincent de Paul Society of Alameda County encouraged people to visit its 100-bed shelter at 675 23rd St. Also, a winter shelter is expected to remain open in San Rafael tonight.
People also can call 211 for help finding a bed, authorities said. Those in need of help finding resources in Contra Costa County also can text the word “HOPE” to 20121.
Over the Sierra, about 3 to 8 inches of snow had been expected to fall Sunday and today over Donner and Echo passes. By Sunday morning, authorities had already instituted chain controls along Interstate 80 through the Sierra due to snowy and slick conditions.