An unseasonable March heat wave is heading for Sacramento and other Northern California communities this week, according to the National Weather Service forecast.
Temperatures into the 90s are expected through next weekend, the agency said.
Models show a high-pressure ridge descending over the West, bringing high heat and low precipitation across the region, meteorologist Jacob Spender told The Sacramento Bee.
Temperatures may reach up to 15 degrees higher than normal for March, Spender said.
What’s the forecast for Sacramento?
Sacramento is expected to see highs of 87 degrees Monday and 89 degrees Tuesday. Starting Wednesdays, temperatures are forecast to rise into the 90s throughout the rest of the week.
Temperatures of 92 degrees are forecast Wednesday, with 93 for Thursday and 94 on Friday. On Saturday, it’s expected to be 91 degrees in Sacramento.
What temperatures will other Northern California cities see?
The National Weather Service forecast calls for temperatures in the 80s and 90s this week for Auburn, Chico, Marysville, Modesto, Red Bluff, Redding, Stockton and Vacaville.
Modesto is forecast to see a high of 86 on Monday, with temperatures of 90 on Tuesday, 93 on Wednesday and Thursday, 94 on Friday and 93 on Saturday.
The highest temperatures in Northern California are expected to hit Redding, where 95 degrees is forecast on Friday.
Will the heat break records?
The incoming heat wave has the chance to break long-standing records, according to Spender.
Various cities across the state may see their earliest 90-degree days ever, weather service data indicated.
In Sacramento, the earliest day of the year the city has experienced 90 degree highs was April 6, 1989. Modesto could see a 66-year record broken, as its earliest ever 90-degree day was April 4, 1960.
Redding may just barely break a 112-year record. The city’s earliest recorded day with 90 degree high temperatures was March 17, 1914.
The Bee’s Camila Pedrosa contributed to this story.
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Don Sweeney has been a newspaper reporter and editor in California for more than 35 years. He is a service reporter based at The Sacramento Bee.
The Sacramento Bee
Camila Pedrosa is a service journalism reporter at The Sacramento Bee. She previously worked as a summer reporting intern for The Bee and reported in Phoenix and Washington, D.C. She graduated from Arizona State University with a master’s degree in mass communication.