Heat Records Shattered Across The Bay Area

SAN RAFAEL, CA — Several Bay Area cities saw record-breaking temperatures during a Labor Day weekend of oppressive heat, but relief is on the way.

Across the Bay Area, the unofficial end of the summer went out with a heat wave that will prove to be short-lived as some areas experience a 20-degree drop in temperatures as the week wears on, the National Weather Service forecast.

The Marin County's San Rafael broke the highest record for that area, reaching 100 degrees on Saturday and tying the record set in 1968, according to the National Weather Service. On Sunday, San Rafael also reached 100 degrees, which far surpassed the previous record of 93 degrees.

On Sunday, Redwood City also saw records break as the San Mateo County town experienced temperatures reaching 96 degrees, beating the previous record of 95 degrees set in 1943. Additionally, the Oakland Museum set a new record of 88 degrees, passing a 2005 record of 87 degrees, the weather service reported.

Temperatures are forecast to drop this week throughout the Bay Area. San Rafael should expect temperatures to drop into the 80s. The Napa area, which saw the temperature rise into the 90s over the weekend, can expect temperatures to fall into the 80s. By the end of the week, the NAPA area could even see temperatures drop to the high 70s, National Weather Service officials said.

The town of Livermore also sweltered with temperatures in at least the high 90s all weekend. The cool-down in the Tri-Valley area, however will be less pronounced. The area is forecast to cool slightly with temperatures remaining in the 90s and high 80s for most of the week, according to the weather service.

"We did have some upper level bridging and surface high pressure setting up over this area. So when we have that bridging building, essentially, it leads to a lot hotter weather across our area," Rachel Kennedy, a NWS meteorologist told Patch. "Essentially, the stronger that ridge is, the more likely it is for us to see those anomalously high temperatures. So because that ridge was fairly short of lived, that's why we really saw those record-breaking temperatures over the weekend.”

“We're no longer expecting the heat to last as long as we had earlier though, with the latest forecast showing a cooling trend starting on Tuesday,” the weather service reported.

The weather service also issued an advisory over the weekend, which was in effect until 11 p.m. on Monday, warning of hazardous beach conditions. Southwest-facing beaches were most affected by an increase in sneaker waves and rip currents, caused by a southwest swell, according to the National Weather Service.

Sneaker waves are exceptionally large coastal waves that appear suddenly after a period of calm, surging far up the beach without warning. These powerful, fast-moving waves are extremely dangerous, capable of sweeping people into the ocean where cold water immersion and strong currents pose a deadly threat. They can occur in around 1 in 10 waves, Kennedy said.

The beach hazard warning extended from up in the Cloverdale area all the way down through Santa Cruz, according to the weather service.