As one of the wettest winters on record in Northern California continues this week with a stretch of soggy days, including another chance of light rain beginning this afternoon or evening, there are sunny skies on the horizon.
Once the final storm clears, temperatures are expected to soar Friday, reaching 76 around Clear Lake, with some locations in the Bay Area possibly touching 80 degrees, according to the National Weather Service.
Although it will remain cool on Thursday, Friday is expected to be the warmest day of the week, according to Bob Benjamin, a meteorologist with the weather service. Forecasters expect a 12 degree jump over Thursday’s high.
Weekend temperatures won’t be as warm, but will still be sunny and dry. At Lakeport and around the lake, the mercury is expected to hover in the low 70s both Saturday and Sunday.
“Cooling off as we get into the weekend but still very nice,” Benjamin said. “A lot of 70s around the Bay.”
Before the sun-splashed weekend, there are a few more days of cloudy skies and light rain in the forecast. There is a chance of a sprinkles beginning this afternoon. Accuweather forecasts call for no more than a third of an inch at lake level, possibly a fraction more at higher elevations in Lake County.
Rainfall from the system will also produce minimal amounts around the region, with one-quarter of an inch expected in the North Bay, and one-tenth of an inch or less for most cities south of San Francisco.
So far in April, most Northern California cities have received more than their monthly averages. The Accuweather monitoring station in Lakeport topped 2 inches for the month, above April’s historical average of 1.7 inches. Oakland recorded 2.19 inches (261 percent of normal), San Francisco 2.04 (213 percent) and San Jose 1.47 (191 percent).
Since the start of the water year on Oct. 1, Lakeport has received 47.62 inches, beating the seasonal average by 17.93 inches. With today’s rain and a chance for a misting on Monday, that mark will rise above 18 inches. Santa Rosa has recorded 59.81 inches of rain (179 percent of normal), San Francisco 32.02 inches (145 percent)
On Tuesday afternoon Clear Lake remained at 7.80 on the Rumsey Gauge. It has not been below the traditional full mark of 7.56 since around Jan. 20.
Although Accuweather predicts a trace of precipitation on Monday, long range forecasts call for dry weather from that point through the end of April.
