The Bay Area didn’t just warm up Tuesday — it scorched.
An early-season heat wave shattered temperature records from Santa Rosa to Salinas, sending San Francisco to its hottest March day in more than two decades and pushing parts of the region into territory rarely seen this early in the year, according to the National Weather Service.
The most striking number came from Salinas’ airport, where temperatures hit 92 degrees — tying the all-time March record, previously set on March 14, 2015, the weather service said.
San Francisco climbed to 86 degrees, breaking a March 17 record of 85 degrees that had stood since 1914. The city came just one degree short of its all-time March record of 87, set in 2005.
Records fell across the region. Santa Rosa reached 90 degrees, breaking its previous March 17 record of 87 set in 1996. Redwood City hit 88, surpassing a 2004 record of 85. Downtown Oakland rose to 87, breaking another 2004 record. San Rafael tied its record at 84, while San Francisco International Airport reached 84, topping its previous mark of 82.
Forecasters say the heat is far from over.
“It is going to be a marathon,” the National Weather Service warned in an earlier forecast.
In a Tuesday forecast discussion, the agency described the event as an “early season, long duration heat wave” expected to last through at least Friday, bringing widespread moderate heat risk across the Bay Area and Central Coast.
That risk carries real consequences. According to the weather service, moderate heat risk can affect older adults, infants, athletes, outdoor workers, people without access to cooling and those with chronic illnesses.
The heat is also drying out vegetation, raising the potential for grass fires later this week, especially with periods of offshore wind.
And while the air feels like summer, the water does not.
Relief is on the horizon. Forecasters expect a gradual cooling trend to begin this weekend, though temperatures may remain slightly above seasonal averages into early next week.