Unseasonably warm weather to continue through the weekend for Sonoma County

Unseasonably warm and potentially record-setting temperatures across Sonoma County and the rest of the Bay Area will continue through the weekend, with the high Thursday unofficially tying the record, according to the National Weather Service.

Thursday’s high was reported as 79 degrees at the Charles M. Schulz-Sonoma County Airport north of Santa Rosa, nearly 20 degrees above the normal temperature of 61 degrees for that date. While the weather service has yet to make it official, the high tied with the most recent record of 79 degrees for the date, which was set in 2020, according to the weather service.

Temperatures will gradually drop through the rest of the week, said meteorologist Sarah McCorkle.

A high of 78 degrees is predicted for Friday at the airport, well above the 61 degree normal temperature for the date but shy of the record of 81 degrees set in 2020.

A high of 75 degrees is predicted for Saturday, which could beat out the record of 73 degrees set in 2020. Sunday is set to reach 73 degrees, just below the record of 75 set in 2015.

There is no rain in the forecast for Sonoma County this week, and less than an inch of precipitation has been recorded in the county since Jan. 1.

Persistent warm and dry conditions this winter have dried out vegetation in the county to the point that “we’re already at late May-early June conditions,” said Chief Marshall Turbeville of the Northern Sonoma County Fire District.

With low humidity expected to accompany the unusually high temperatures this week, “fire weather concerns (are) becoming very real,” weather service officials said Thursday in a forecast discussion.

Turbeville said such conditions mean that Sonoma County residents should be extra cautious around any activities that could potentially spark a wildfire, such as weed trimming, mowing and pile burning.

“Just because it’s winter and not the summer fire season, the potential for fire is still there,” he said.

On Monday and Tuesday, “we’ll start to get into the more seasonal temperatures,” with highs in the mid-60s at the airport, McCorkle said. The normal high temperature for both days is 62 degrees.

But the lower temperatures early next week “will be momentary as models look to keep the warm and dry conditions in the extended forecast,” weather service officials said.

While no temperature records have been broken yet this week in Sonoma County, the weather service reported several records elsewhere in the Bay Area on Wednesday. A high of 78 degrees in Oakland beat out the record of 74 set in 2006. Richmond tied its record from 1998 of 75 degrees.

You can reach Staff Writer Matt Pera at matthew.pera@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @Matt__Pera.