Brace yourselves, Sacramento, the thermostat is seemingly tired of moderation. According to the latest update from the National Weather Service, "temperatures warm through the weekend with areas of Major and Extreme HeatRisk possible early next week." This comes on the heels of yet another bout with clutching heat, with a side dish of thunderstorm chances to the south of Lake Tahoe.
The National Weather Service observed that we're seeing a skyline mostly free of clouds, except for the odd congregation of mid and high level ones drifting from central California. This movement is ushered in by the monsoon moisture cozying up around the edge of the upper high centered over the Desert Southwest. And as if reading from a script of typical summer reruns, the high-pressure system is reinforcing its hold over our region. The marine layer is shrinking, and the Delta Breeze is losing its cooling breath. The consequence – if you step outside at dawn, you might note the temperatures are already "around 5-10 degrees warmer compared to 24 hours ago."
What translates from these temperature trends is a concrete promise of triple digits re-entering the Central Valley stage. The heat is not predicted to hit as hard as the past episodes, but moderate HeatRisk is expected to hover like a troubling guest. National Weather Service mentions, "Another short-wave trough is forecast to brush by NorCal over the weekend which will likely reinvigorate the Delta Breeze bringing localized cooling into the southern half of the Sacramento ninety Valley while areas further inland remain hot."
For those with a penchant for late-day spectacles, you're in luck—or perhaps out of it. Thunderstorms may staple itself to the Sierra forecast. "The return of elevated moisture/instability will lead to a chance for late-day thunderstorms over the Sierra, mainly to the south of Lake Tahoe, the next few days," notes the National Weather Service. So if thunder roils and lightning forks are your idea of entertainment, look to the south. But remember, nature's showmanship is often best viewed at a safe distance.
Come next week, forewarned by the National Weather Service, that grandiose upper high over the Desert Southwest expands like an unwelcome sprawl over NorCal, bloating the temperatures well above summer's norm. The forecast is not for the fainthearted: "NBM showing high
temperatures upwards of 10 degrees above normal with triple digit heat in the Central Valley." Locals can expect the mercury to flirt with, if not embrace, the 100 to 108 degrees range – "hottest in the N Sac Valley." And let us not omit the monsoonal moisture circling like vultures, possibly heralding thunderstorms each afternoon over higher terrain. Perhaps it is wisest to find solace indoors, prepare with ample hydration, and thus ensure summer's sting is but a background hum.
As for aviation enthusiasts, or those flying out to chillier climes, VFR conditions over interior NorCal are expected in the next 24 hours. And for maritime traffic, surface winds may prove to be tame "except vcnty of Delta SWly sfc wind up to 20 kts possible at times," as per the National Weather Service report.
