As the calendar inches closer and closer to May and the light of Memorial Day — the unofficial start of summer — begins to creep in at the end of the tunnel, the weather seems determined not to cooperate in the least.
And while the cold, windy and drab conditions are, as National Weather Service meteorologist Nicole Sarment put it, “not quite winter weather,” they aren’t inspiring visions of bathing suits and suntan lotion, either.
Related Articles
When red-hot isn’t enough: New government heat risk tool sets magenta as most dangerous level
How a different type of atmospheric river storm saved California from another drought
Progress made on three Big Sur Highway 1 landslides
April showers expected to linger through the weekend
More April showers set to fall on Bay Area to kick off weekend
“It looks like we’re going to continue on with this spring roller coaster,” Sarment said. “One day, it may appear the weather may seem settled. The next day, it may seem very unsettled.”
The latest dip in the roller coaster brought a second straight day of cold spring temperatures throughout the region. Highs on Wednesday and Thursdsay were expected to peak in the mid-to-high 60s, and the lows overnight are likely to touch the 40s or low 50s at least through the weekend. Temperatures by Sunday may reach the low 70s in some areas.
But as the weekend approaches, those temperatures likely will be tinged with the sharp chill brought on by the winds.
“That’s going to be the bigger story,” Sarment said. “They’re going to be very gusty and toward the northwest, and they’ll be part of a cold front that’s coming through.”
The weather service said wind gusts are expected to be at least 30 mph and could get as high as 50 mph in some places
That cold front could bring some very light precipitation, Sarment said, though the extended Bay Area forecast by the weather service showed rain-free predictions. Heavy fog brought some coastal drizzle on Tuesday and Wednesday, though not enough to be measured.
The first week of May is expected to bring much the same kind of weather. Sarment said the long-range forecast from May 1-7 shows that the weather service expects below average temperatures and above average precipitation.
In other words, people itching for the sunny-and-getting-warmer pattern of summer will have to hurry up and wait.
“That’s just how the pattern is right now,” Sarment said. “It is what it is.”