It’s turned into an unusually dry winter for Northern California, and that pattern, thanks to a ridge of high pressure, is going to continue for at least the first 10 days of February.
As the Chronicle meteorology team tells us, the dry and balmy conditions will be with us through Super Bowl Weekend and beyond, continuing a pattern that has left the Sierra snowpack mighty low. This abnormally dry winter comes on the heels of the good news that, as of early January, there were zero drought conditions recorded anywhere in California for the first time since December 2020.
And we are still not back in a drought, the Chronicle notes, thanks to all the rain we received in the fall. But that could change.
The weather could shift on or after February 10 in Northern California, bringing more seasonal wetness and cold. According to the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts, the 10th is the first day this month when that ridge of high pressure is expected to go away.
But other forecast models aren’t showing this, and the Chronicle team suggests that the weather could remain uncertain, with likely below-normal precipitation, into the middle of the month and possibly beyond.
A polar vortex, and the fading La Niña pattern in the Pacific, have been contributing to the winter weather pattern that has left the West fairly warm and the East and other parts of the country unusually cold.
In any event, look for the rest of the country to be jealous as live shots from San Francisco and Santa Clara this weekend show bright sunny skies and football fans without winter coats on.
Top image: Photo by Kelly Zhang