The Bay Area's late-week forecast is becoming gloomy, with the National Weather Service warning residents to prepare for a spell of cold, wet, and windy weather. According to an update from NWS Forecast Office San Francisco, CA, the region is returning to cooler temperatures and unsettled conditions as we head into the weekend, with the possibility of rain, gusty winds, and even high elevation snow on the cards.
Temperatures are set to dive from today to the weekend, and folks might be cranking up their heaters once more, with frost and freezing temperatures possibly coming Sunday and Monday mornings. The NWS stated, "Cooler and unsettled conditions return for tomorrow into the weekend with rain, gusty winds, and the possibility for high elevation snow. Cold temperatures linger into early next week with frost and freezing temperatures possible on Sunday and Monday mornings." So, better keep those winter coats out.
As the day unfolds, Bay Area residents can expect the cool onshore breezes to bring down temperatures, with highs sticking to the 50s and 60s across different parts of the region. Overnight lows, however, will be a bit milder—mostly in the 40s—but don't let that fool you into thinking the brisk cold won't be biting. "Given the increased cloud cover and onshore flow overnight low temperatures will be a bit milder and mostly in the 40s outside some 30s in the higher terrain of the Central Coast and Santa Clara hills," per the NWS.
The unsettled weather is also set to disrupt weekend plans, with conditions not ideal for outdoor activities. If you've got stuff to do outdoors, Friday evening through Saturday might see more convective showers that could even escalate to thunderstorms. These will be accompanied by "wet, windy, and cold" festivities, as described by an X post from NWSBayArea. The damp conditions are projected to clear up slightly as we head into early next week but don’t expect a significant rise in the mercury levels.
We hate to be the bearer of bad news but the late week weather looks downright...unpleasant. Cold, windy, and cloudy with periods of rain. Dreary conditions will linger into Saturday. Clearing a bit for early next week but temperatures will remain chilly #cawx pic.twitter.com/AyQqNspblg
— NWS Bay Area 🌉 (@NWSBayArea) February 28, 2024
For those navigating the skies or the seas, the aviation and marine outlook isn't any sunnier. The aviation sector will see increasing coastal low clouds and potential low-level wind shear starting Thursday morning. Mariners are advised of breezy to gusty winds, showers, and wave heights reaching up to 18 feet through Monday. "Breezy northwest winds will turn southwesterly on Thursday ahead of a cold front arriving Thursday into Friday," challenged mariners are warned in the NWS marine forecast.
