Records Fall As Heatwave Swelters The Bay Area

SAN FRANCISCO — A late-season heatwave that has taken hold in the Bay Area this week has proven formidable, setting new records and making for several days of stifling October weather stretching from the usual inland hotspots to the coast.

Daily records were toppled or tied on consecutive days in San Rafael and San Jose, while others were felled or matched in Santa Rosa, Kentfield and Napa.

According to the National Weather Service, San Rafael hit 105 degrees Tuesday and 106 degrees Wednesday, tying two daily records set during an October heat wave in 1980. San Jose recorded a 100-degree high Tuesday, besting the Oct. 1, 1980, record by three degrees. Soaring to 106 degrees Wednesday, San Jose sailed past daily records set in 1980 and 2012 by a full 10 degrees.

San Francisco recorded a high of 94 degrees Tuesday, reaching the rare benchmark for only the 15th time of any October on record, the weather service said. The week's other peculiarities included a weather balloon launched from Oakland that logged record October temperatures at 5,000 feet Monday night and a 97-degree max temperature recorded along the Big Sur Coast at 1 a.m. Thursday.

While the hottest days should be in the rear-view mirror, forecasters expect above-average heat and elevated fire concerns will linger well into next week. An excessive heat warning was extended through Friday evening for most inland portions of the Bay Area, while a heat advisory will remain in place for San Francisco, the North Bay valleys and most of the coast.

"Hot and dry conditions continue with dangerous heat and potentially critical fire weather conditions for the remainder of the work week," the weather service cautioned Thursday. "The heatwave did peak the last couple of days, but impacts from moderate to extreme HeatRisk, at times, will be felt into the weekend. The beginning of the next week does hint at relief from the heatwave, however temperatures are still slightly above normal for interior locations toward the end of the extended forecast."