After days of hot and dry weather, the Bay Area will see a major shift to start the Memorial Day weekend as a low-pressure system moves in, weakening the ridge of high pressure above the state.<\/p>\n
\u201cAn upper level ridge over the northern Pacific that extends into the\u00a0Pacific Northwest is continuing to flatten under the influence of a\u00a0trough centered over Alaska, allowing a gradual cooling trend to\u00a0begin today,\u201d read<\/a>\u00a0the National Weather Service\u2019s forecast discussion.<\/p>\n Brayden Murdock, a meteorologist with the weather service, said the Bay Area region will see foggier skies and cooler temperatures, especially along the coast, thanks to the new weather pattern.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re back to onshore flow, which means most of our air is coming almost directly from the coast and pushing inland, so for that, we get a good opportunity for the marine layer to reestablish and then push further inland,\u201d Murdock said. \u201cEven areas away from the marine layer, a lot of that wind is that cooler ocean air, which is sitting around the upper 50s right now, and that gets a chance to push inland to help cool off some of those spots.\u201d<\/p>\n On Friday morning, the marine layer was about 1,000 to 1,500 feet thick, resulting in gray skies along the coast. As the temperature cools this weekend, the foggy skies will push farther inland, Murdock said.<\/p>\n \u201cCertain areas aren\u2019t going to be cooking as long in the sun as they have been, and then as we continue through the weekend, we\u2019re going to continue to see that set up,\u201d he said. \u201cAreas like San Jose [are] starting off with cloudier conditions tomorrow, so that helps things stay cool.\u201d<\/p>\n The shift will result in cooler weather for the Memorial Day holiday. Oakland<\/a> is expected to see highs in the mid 60s by Monday. San Jose\u2019s\u00a0high<\/a> is forecast to be 75. Downtown San Francisco is expected to see highs in the 60s, although areas near the ocean will be cooler.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you\u2019re right along the Pacific during the weekend, you\u2019re probably only going to be seeing highs in the 50s,\u201d Murdock said.<\/p>\n