The curtain has begun to close, and the lights have started to dim on a Bay Area heat wave that will be remembered as one of the region’s longest. But the process for the curtain to be fully shut and the lights to be dark will take yet one more day, according to the National Weather Service.
“I think the big news for (Friday) is that while the end is in sight, it’s still going to be very hot,” NWS meteorologist Dylan Flynn said. “It’s really Saturday that we’re going to get the release of the heat. We’re only a couple of degrees cooler (Friday). For all intents and purposes, it’s the same.”
For the hottest spots in the region, that means one more day of 100-degree weather, and in some cases 105. Those high temperatures are expected to be at least 3-5 degrees cooler than they were Thursday but hardly enough for it to be felt.
An excessive heat warning for the East Bay hills and interior valley areas, San Jose and the Santa Clara Valley, the Eastern Santa Clara hills, and the North Bay interior mountains will remain in effect until 8 p.m. Friday.
The temperatures Thursday marked the peak of the second phase of a heat wave that’s been mostly full bore since July 2. It brought a high mark of 111 degrees to Livermore, tying that city’s record high set in 1961, the weather service said. It was the only record-setting spot in the region.
Elsewhere, the gauge read 109 in Brentwood, 108 in Concord, 104 in Morgan Hill, 99 in San Jose, 84 in Oakland, 82 in San Mateo and 74 in San Francisco.
“We’ve had a couple of different phases of this heat wave, but it’s basically been going non-stop for 11 days,” Flynn said. “That’s one of the longest ones. I know people are sick of it.”
Still, by Saturday, the show will be fully over. Flynn said the high temperatures likely will be 8-10 degrees cooler when the weekend hits and that Sunday will dip the thermometer even lower.
A trough from the Pacific Ocean that has been developing and having some influence finally will take over the region as the primary weather pattern. The ridge of high pressure that gave way to the heat wave has weakened enough and the trough has gained enough strength to allow all of it to happen, Flynn said.
That system is expected to stay in place for at least a week, making for a middle part of the month that Flynn said is expected to be mighty comfortable.
“Relief is on the way,” he said. “We’ve just got to wait until Saturday.”
