Aug. 23, 2023Updated: Aug. 23, 2023 5:26 p.m.
The maximum temperatures measured across the Bay Area on Wednesday afternoon.
Baron/Lynx
The marine layer usually acts like a natural A.C. for the Bay Area coast, but it has been out of the picture today. This unusual August weather paved the way for near record-breaking temperatures Wednesday in cities along the coast and San Francisco Bay shore.
Downtown San Francisco registered 85 degrees this afternoon, just 4 degrees shy of the daily record high of 89 set back in 1931. That’s 17 degrees above average for this time of year in the city.
Even hotter temperatures set up shop on the Peninsula, where San Francisco International Airport measured a daytime high of 90 degrees, just 2 degrees away from today’s record of 92 degrees set in 2010.
And weather models predict that this rare August heat will continue into Thursday — if a bit less intensely. Residents along S.F. Bay can expect a repeat of hot afternoon temperatures in the upper 70s to lower 80s — about 7 to 10 degrees above average. Nighttime temperatures will also run on the warmer side — lower to mid-60s.
An area of low pressure arrives in the Bay Area on Friday morning, which should help crank up the marine layer’s cool winds and fog, and bring temperatures down closer to average by the weekend.
Reach Gerry Díaz: gerry.diaz@sfchronicle.com; Twitter: @geravitywave
Gerry Díaz is The San Francisco Chronicle’s first ever Newsroom Meteorologist.
He previously served as a meteorologist for the National Weather Service Bay Area, working from the agency’s Monterey office. In that position he led an initiative aimed at increasing outreach to Spanish speaking communities during extreme weather events.
Most recently he worked as a meteorology specialist for the utility Southern California Edison.
Díaz enjoys hiking through California’s national parks and working on his panoramic photography skills, with a big interest on photographing the Central Coast’s state parks.
