Memorial Day weather in Santa Rosa warm and sunny

Blessed by sunshine, Memorial Day brought temperatures in the high 80s and low 90s Monday throughout Sonoma County, cheering up holiday barbecues and picnics, but setting no records.

“It’s 10 to 20 degrees above normal in some areas,” said meteorologist Steve Anderson of the National Weather Service in Monterey.

“We’re getting a taste of summer.”

The normal temperature for Santa Rosa on May 28 is 77 degrees, and on Monday the official weather service reading was 89, still far shy of the record of 100 degrees, set in 1924.

Unofficial temperatures Monday ranged from 98 in Cloverdale to 86 in Petaluma, with 88 reported in Rohnert Park and 91 in Healdsburg. The weather service predicts today’s high temperature will be 10 degrees cooler.

“Temperatures will remain in the mid-70s to lower 80s for the next week,” Anderson said.

The downside of hot weather is increased fire risk, so the cooler week ahead is good news on that front, said meterologist Ryan Walbrun.

“Where we’re lined up right now, from a fuel perspective, things are very normal because we had a cool weather from April through late May, obviously not counting the last few days,” Walbrun said.

You can reach staff writer Dan Taylor at 707-521-5243 or dan.taylor@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @danarts.