It has been a remarkably cool week across the Sacramento Valley, with high temperatures holding 10 to 20 degrees below normal for this time of year — high temps that are normally solidly in the 90s have instead been enjoyably in the 70s and low 80s.
After a cold front of showers and clouds pushed across Northern California on Wednesday and Thursday, more of these cool temps will stay put through the holiday weekend, although they won’t last much longer after that.
High temperatures Friday through Sunday will stay right where they have been — in the 70s (and low 80s at the very most) across the entire Valley. Even Redding, which would normally be well into the 90s in early September, will stay in the 70s at most through Sunday. The result is a beautiful stretch of comfortable conditions to enjoy outdoors for the holiday weekend.
As many head to the mountains to enjoy the last stretch of summer, be mindful that you may want to bundle up just a bit more than you might expect. Low temperatures will dip into the 40s across much of the Sierra and Northern California — and even into the 30s if you venture high enough into the mountain peaks where frost is a real possibility. Winds gusting 30 mph or more, meanwhile, will pose a risk to any camping in the backcountry and boaters on Lake Tahoe as cool air continues to rush in.
Thanks to the rain over the past few days in far Northern California, where more than a quarter-inch fell across nearly the entire border with Oregon, the risk for fire will be rather low. That could be a different case in the Southern Sierra though, where rain has still been more difficult to come by. A few more showers and isolated storms are possible Friday across Northern California, but any rain and storms would be brief and localized — not posing a serious prolonged risk to whatever your outdoor plans may be.
Hurricane Marie to kick up waves along the California Coast
South of California in the eastern Pacific Ocean, Marie has intensified into a hurricane and is likely to continue strengthening over the coming days…