Chilly Bay Area Residents Reach For Sweaters, Not Swimsuits This Memorial Day
KPIX 5 Morning Weather Anchor Roberta Gonzales answers the questions you never get to ask on-air.
It is the loudest complaint heard across the Bay Area besides the price of gasoline. I hear you!
Memorial Day is the "unofficial kickoff" to summer, but it feels more like the kick off to Presidents' Day. After the warmest winter on record here in the Bay Area, beach goers are shivering at the mere thought of getting out of the car and rolling onto the sand in Pacifica. Tourists are shaking in their UGGS in Ocean Beach. And where it is not cold, it's windy inland with the ocean sea breeze reaching all the way to Livermore with such a kick, cyclists are wearing their "layers" of winter gear while pedaling around wine country.
So what's the deal? Blame it on the marine layer. There is an area of low pressure to the east of the Bay Area and it is enhancing the marine layer. The marine layer is producing heavy drizzle and a vicious onshore flow. At 5 p.m. Sunday, my buddy Eric texted me from Pacifica with a picture of his furnace lit saying, "it's 48 degrees here, drizzle plus wind!"
Let's take a look at weather in other parts of the country.
Chicago: 74 degrees, thunderstorms
New York: Sun with 85 degrees!
Washington D.C.: Sun with 87 degrees
Los Angeles: 71 degrees, sunny
San Diego: 67 degrees with low clouds & fog/sun
Miami: Sunny, 86 degrees
Dallas: 82 degrees with thunderstorms
Last year, San Francisco was 67 degrees and Gilroy a blazing 93 degrees.
So it looks like on this Memorial Day, volleyballs and swimsuits will stay tucked under countless layers of sweatshirts and sweaters. Do not expect a change in the forecast until Wednesday when a gradual warming trend will lead to temperatures climbing into the 80s Inland through Sunday. But with warmer weather, expect pollen counts to increase and the potential for fire danger too.
Chime in! What would you rather experience? Warmer weather, (but be sneezing and wheezing with a watchful eye on local terrain) or bundled up inside watching and hoping for a Golden State Warriors sweep?
I know what I choose!
Question, observation, picture or comment, please email me at: Gonzales@kpix.cbs.com