Cooler temperatures ahead in North Bay

Cooler weather is coming to Sonoma County for the remainder of the week, though the chance of rain clouds over the North Bay remains unlikely, weather officials said.

Temperatures in Santa Rosa climbed to 71 degrees on Tuesday, just short of the record high for the day of 75 degrees set in 1943, National Weather Service meteorologist Brayden Murdock said.

One day earlier, temperatures hit 75 degrees at the Sonoma County airport on Monday, shattering a previous record for the day of 72 degrees set in 1917, the weather service said.

Most of Sonoma County is expected to dip into the 60s on Wednesday, Murdock said. By Friday, temperatures in Santa Rosa may climb to a high of 61 degrees before sinking to 38 degrees at night. It could be the coldest day of the week countywide, Murdock said.

The chances of rainfall in the North Bay this week remained unlikely, he added.

“It’s still not looking like anything worth betting on,” he said.

Since Oct. 1, the Santa Rosa airport has received 1.44 inches of rain, far less than the roughly 8 inches typically recorded at the location this far into the year, Murdock said.

A high surf warning along most parts of the coast from Sonoma County to Monterey County was extended until 3 p.m. Wednesday. The warning could be prolonged further if towering waves and strong currents continue, National Weather Service meteorologist Brian Garcia said.

“We’re expecting a slow decay in the wave activity over the next few days, but there’s still a lot of energy moving out there in the water,” Garcia said.

You can reach Staff Writer Nashelly Chavez at 707-521-5203 or nashelly.chavez@pressdemocrat.com.