Temperatures hit record highs in Sonoma County

It may be mid-winter, but record-breaking temperatures in Santa Rosa and other Bay Area locales prompted people to dig out their shorts and sunscreen on Monday, just as if it were summer.

The mercury topped out at 85 degrees at the Charles M. Schulz-Sonoma County Airport. That appears to be the hottest Feb. 15 in recorded history, though - for complicated reasons - it’s not an official record yet, the National Weather Service said.

It turns out, the airport hasn’t been used as a data-collection site long enough for a record to be declared, though the hottest Feb. 15 at the agency’s old weather site in downtown Santa Rosa was a mere 80 degrees way back in 1930, National Weather Service meteorologist Larry Smith said.

Whether an official record or not, 85 “is darn warm for this year,” meteorologist Diana Henderson said.

San Rafael posted a new record of 80 degrees Monday, breaking the old record of 78 degrees, set in 1977, she said.

In downtown San Francisco, the high was 77 degrees, a degree above the 1930 record, while at San Francisco International Airport the new record of 75 degrees matched the temperature set a year ago.

The mercury hit 74 degrees at the Oakland Airport, besting 1977’s record 73 degrees.

Richmond also set a new high of 77 degrees on Monday, beating the previous record of 75 degrees, set in 1977.

The warm temperatures will return Tuesday, with a high of 76 degrees expected in Santa Rosa, Smith said.

But a significant shift in the weather is forecast on Wednesday, with high clouds, breezy conditions and cooler temperatures setting in throughout the day, followed by rain Wednesday evening and overnight into Thursday morning, Smith said.

Residual showers, with the possibility of downpours, were anticipated on Thursday.

The storm could bring as much as a half-inch of rain to the region, Smith and Henderson said.

Santa Rosa’s high temperature Wednesday was forecast at only 63 degrees, with the mercury dropping to 59 for Thursday and Friday, “so that’s pretty chill,” Smith said.

You can reach Staff Writer Mary Callahan at 521-5249 or mary.callahan@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @MaryCallahanB.