Significant Rain, Record Cold Temps: Weekend-Wrecking Bay Area Forecast

SAN FRANCISCO — A cold and rainy turn in the weather may scuttle some weekend hiking plans as a late-season blast of low pressure descends on the Bay Area.

According to the National Weather Service, an incoming cold front will begin to set up shop Friday evening, bringing along a breeze, unseasonably cool temps and rain showers across the region.

Forecasters predict that rain will hit the North Bay first on Friday night, before spreading southeastward to cover the rest of the region through Saturday.

New models favor slightly higher rainfall amounts than initial projections. While no flooding is expected, forecasters said the Bay Area could pick up more than half its usual May precipitation from just the one system.

Another anomaly with the system will be the temperatures, which are expected to dip between 5 and 15 degrees below their early May normals. Daytime highs will struggle to break out of the upper 50s for many Saturday, and the overnight chill could topple a few records.

"Chilly to cold overnight low temperatures for this time of year (40s coastside and bayside; 30s inland) are forecast late Saturday night to Sunday morning and Sunday night to Monday morning," NWS Bay Area wrote Thursday. "San Francisco and Oakland downtown, possibly a few other locations, may be nearing record lows Sunday and Monday mornings."

Fortunately, drier weather is in the cards Sunday, and a gradual warming trend is in the forecast for next week. Updated outlooks from the Climate Prediction Center favor above-average temperatures across Northern California heading toward the middle of the month.