Freezing Temperatures, Frosts Hit Bay Area As Dry, Cold Front Moves Across California
SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS/AP) -- The Bay Area is experiencing the coldest weather of the season, and there is more on the way. A cold air mass is bringing freezes and frosts to the entire state, and damaging winds to Southern California, as well.
A frost advisory will be in effect for the Sacramento Valley and northern San Joaquin Valley, the Delta and the Mendocino coast. A hard freeze warning is in effect for interior San Luis Obispo County valleys.
National Weather Service forecaster Steve Anderson said this isn't unusual for late December.
"This is exactly a typical setup we see in wintertime, when we have a cold front come through bringing cold air behind it," said Anderson. "We get chilly for a couple of days and then high pressure builds up and warms up to – back to normal.
California temperatures have been unseasonably mild, for the most part, this winter.
"What we seen is a lot of warm tropical air, with water temps still off the coast above normal, it's been a pretty mild winter, so far.
Temperatures in the Northern California inland valleys are expected fall to freezing, and just below it. But it will be brief.
"Temperatures won't what you call a hard freeze," said Anderson. "Hopefully temperatures won't be below freezing for very long."
For Bay Area residents, that means pipes won't be breaking but residents should cover sensitive outdoor plants. It's good news for travelers, heading to the Sierra. There's no precipitation in the forecast for at least a week.
The cold snap comes as most farmers have completed their harvest and early enough that almond and walnut blossoms are not yet out.
Temperatures in the mandarin groves of the Sierra foothills are expected to stay above the level farmers consider a hard freeze, said Rich Colwell, who grows mandarins and Meyer lemons on 3 acres in Penryn, about 30 miles northeast of the state capital.
He said temperatures have to drop into the mid-20s and stay there for four to six hours before citrus farmers become concerned.
"Above that, you're probably OK," Colwell said. "I'm not worried now."
Besides that, recent rains already cut short the mandarin crop by two weeks, said Jim Struble, a third-generation farmer who grows mandarins and clementines on a 3-acre ranch in Loomis, 25 miles northeast of Sacramento.
As for the Central and San Joaquin Valley, the National Weather Service has issued a freeze watch that will be in effect Friday night through Saturday morning due to four to six hours of temperatures between 28 degrees and 32 degrees.
In Southern California, high pressure in the Great Basin will produce gusty north and northeast winds. Days of strong gusts there have toppled trees and triggered power outages.
TM and © Copyright 2014 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2014 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
