SACRAMENTO, Calif — As expected, Saturday was the hottest day of the year so far. We were 4-7 degrees from record temperatures for May 11th. Downtown Sacramento topped out at 95°, Sacramento Executive made it to 94°, and Stockton and Modesto each made it to 92°.
It also means another temperature benchmark was reached. We typically don't see 95° until May 21, but we got there about a week early this year.
With the hot temperatures arriving, it's a good warning to keep an eye on pets and children inside cars without AC running. Car temperatures can increase by about 10 degrees every 10 minutes when temperatures are in the 90s.
Mother's Day is expected to see valley temps climb into the 80s by lunch before topping out in the low 90s for the third day in a row. Foothill highs will be in the middle 80s, with upper 60s and low 70s in the Sierra.
Be prepared for the heat for any outdoor activities with mom, and don't forget the sunscreen!
Winds will remain breezy for the next few evenings this week thanks to the Delta breeze. 15-25 mph gusts are possible through the Bay and Delta, and 10-20 mph gusts into the Valley.
If you were out looking for the aurora last night, you probably didn't see too much. Peak energy happened before sunset on the west coast, meaning some folks saw the aurora but only right around and after dusk. It's a reminder that space weather forecasting is much more inexact than Earth weather!
It wasn't our last opportunity to see the aurora, however!
The NWS Space Weather Prediction Center is forecasting the solar storm to continue at severe to extreme strength as another coronal mass ejection – or CME – arrives at Earth today. This means Northern California could get yet another northern lights show Sunday night!
If you want to chase the aurora, darkness is key! And so is patience. These things are exceptionally difficult to forecast the location, timing, and strength of. And in this particular event, multiple waves of solar storms are hitting Earth, which can cause the aurora intensity to fluctuate.
Back to the weather, high pressure builds over the west coast this weekend bringing clear skies and hot temperatures through at least the middle of the workweek. Models disagree on when the high eventually pushes east, but it's looking more likely that we stay in the upper 80s/low 90s through Wednesday, before dropping back towards our seasonal averages (low 80s) next weekend.
Despite the wet winter and spring, things are beginning to dry out, especially the grasses in the valley. Humidity will remain fairly low the next few days, in the 15-25% range during the afternoon. Fire danger is possible, especially grass fires. With soil moisture still abundant, fire spread is limited. But as these grasses begin drying out, the summer months will see plenty of available fuel.
MOTHER'S DAY: Sunny with highs in the low 90s. Lake Tahoe highs near 70°.
TONIGHT: Clear with lows in the 50s and Sierra lows in the 30s.
TOMORROW: Sunny with highs in the upper 80s. Lake Tahoe highs near 70°.
TUESDAY: Sunny with highs in the low 90s. Lake Tahoe highs in the low 70s.
WEDNESDAY: Sunny with highs in the low to mid-90s. Lake Tahoe highs in the low 70s.
THURSDAY: Sunny with highs in the upper 80s and low 90s. Lake Tahoe highs in the upper 60s.
FRIDAY: Cooling trend begins. Sunny with highs in the mid-80s. Lake Tahoe highs in the mid-60s.
SATURDAY: Sunny with highs in the mid-80s. Lake Tahoe highs in the mid-60s.
SUNDAY: Sunny with highs in the low to mid- 80s. Lake Tahoe highs in the low 60s.
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