Winter chill moves in to Sonoma County

Break out the winter coats, scarves and hats: Low temperatures should dip near to freezing in Sonoma County on Saturday with readings in the upper 20s for some areas in the inland valleys.

“Winter is here,” said Bob Benjamin, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Monterey. “There will be a fairly decent amount of frost (Saturday) morning.”

With the drop in temperatures, Sonoma County on Friday issued a “code blue” advisory, which requests that all homeless service agencies expand their bed capacities and open warming facilities. The advisory will remain in effect until Monday morning.

In response, Catholic Charities opened its warming station at its Santa Rosa facility at 600 Morgan St., with outdoor patio heaters for those who do not want to enter.

“Some people prefer to be outside, they have spent so much time on the outside ... they are more comfortable out there,” said Stephanie Merrida-Grant, coordinator of cold weather programs for Catholic Charities.

Catholic Charities also offered up additional room at its Family Support Center at 465 A St., where an extra 14 beds were available for families with children, Merrida-Grant said.

The Redwood Gospel Mission in Santa Rosa was using its vans to help shuttle homeless people into local churches where they could stay on Friday night.

The county has an estimated homeless population of 3,300 with about 20 percent who live in their cars. Those seeking the latest information on shelters can call 211 or the Catholic Charities’ cold weather hotline at 800-2927.

The temperatures should warm up a little on Sunday with Santa Rosa slated for an overnight low of 36 degrees. Some isolated areas around the county will still have temperatures near freezing, Benjamin said. Highs should range in the mid- to-upper 50s. Santa Rosa is scheduled for a high of 55 on Saturday and 56 on Sunday.

The cold front is a reminder of how mild temperatures have been so far this month. The normal high for Santa Rosa on Dec. 26 is 56 degrees while the normal low is 36 degrees.

A weak frontal system will move into the area early next week, Benjamin said, providing a slight chance of showers Tuesday.

“It will come through fairly fast,” he said. “We may have some brief sprinkles.”

California is under the influence of a cold air mass that could bring the first widespread frost of the winter across the Central Valley, as southern areas see more damaging winds.

The National Weather Service said a freeze watch will be in effect Friday night through Saturday morning in the central and southern San Joaquin Valley because temperatures are forecast to range between 28 degrees and 32 degrees for four to six hours.

A frost advisory will be in effect for the Sacramento and northern San Joaquin valleys, the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta and the Mendocino coast.

A hard freeze warning also is in effect for interior San Luis Obispo County valleys.

“We’re getting a pretty cold air mass that’s dropping down out of Canada,” said Eric Kurth, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Sacramento. “It’s going to be the coldest weather we’ve seen, really, pretty much this year.”

The state capital dipped to 35 degrees in January and February, but the latest forecast predicts temperatures will fall to 32 degrees.

Meanwhile, high pressure in the Great Basin will produce gusty north and northeast winds in Southern California, where days of strong gusts have toppled trees and triggered power failures.

Kurth said it’s a good time for residents to cover their plants or move them indoors.

The cold snap comes as most farmers have completed their harvest and early enough that almond and walnut blossoms are not yet out.

Temperatures in the mandarin groves of the Sierra foothills are expected to stay above the level farmers consider a hard freeze, said Rich Colwell, who grows mandarins and Meyer lemons on 3 acres in Penryn, about 30 miles northeast of the state capital.

He said temperatures have to drop into the mid-20s and stay there for four to six hours before citrus farmers become concerned.

“Above that, you’re probably OK,” Colwell said. “I’m not worried now.”

Besides that, recent rains already cut short the mandarin crop by two weeks, said Jim Struble, a third-generation farmer who grows mandarins and clementines on a 3-acre ranch in Loomis, 25 miles northeast of Sacramento.

Saturday morning should be the coldest period of the week, but another cold snap is expected to move in later next week.