Sacramento nears a heat record for October. When will cooler temperatures arrive?

Northern California is experiencing a hot early October, with many cities recording their first triple-digit day in October in 12 years.

“It does happen sometimes, but I wouldn’t say it’s common. It does occur at least in the first half of the month,” said Eric Kurth, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Sacramento

A heat advisory was set in place Tuesday at 11 a.m. and extended to Thursday 11 p.m, Kurth said. In the Delta region, Valley and foothills, temperatures are estimated to reach 96 to 106 degrees, with lows of 60 to mid 70 degrees over the next few days, according to the National Weather Service.

Reddit users expressed confusion about October weather conditions, adding that they were “tired” of the heat.

“This heat has felt extremely long, much longer than usual. Seriously,” wrote Reddit user Swarles_Stinson.

In September, the average temperature for downtown Sacramento was 76.3 degrees, and the month had eight days over 100 degrees, Kurth said.

In 1980, downtown Sacramento saw five days with triple digits in October, according to Kurth. The last time it experienced triple digits was in 2012 on the same days this year — Oct. 1 and Oct. 2.

The high in downtown Sacramento reached 100 degrees Tuesday, one degree shy of the highest temperature recorded the same day in 2001. Sacramento is predicted to hit 101 degrees Wednesday, which is one degree short of the highest temperature on the same day from 2001, Bill Rasch, a National Weather Service meteorologist, previously told The Bee.

When will the weather cool down?

The heat is anticipated to continue into the week, with Friday expected to reach a high of 96 degrees, Kurth said. Monday’s high will be 91 degrees and Tuesday cools down slightly to 88 degrees.

“We’re seeing a gradual cooldown. This isn’t one of those situations where we’re going from hot to cool,” Kurth said. “Next week, we’ll see that cooling will get to more average temperatures for this time of year.”

As the heat weakens, there will be some onshore flow and Delta breeze, he said. The National Weather Service is not anticipating any strong wind this week, other than a light Delta breeze.

Sacramento will be dry, as the humidity levels will drop into the teens Wednesday afternoon, and upper teens over the weekend, Kurth added.

“Not until we get to early next week, when we get that more substantial onshore flow, we get into the 20s, low 20s on Monday,” Kurth said. “No significant change until we get to early next week.”

On X, the National Weather Service cautioned that the high temperatures could increase the risk of heat stress and illness to people and animals. They advised residents to stay hydrated.

“If possible, stay in air-conditioned buildings, especially in the heat of the day in the afternoon and early evening hours,” Kurth said.

Kurth said Sacramento residents should “be prepared for summer weather” for the next several days.

“We still have some heat left. The calendar may say that it’s October and fall, but we are still having these summer conditions,” Kurth said.

This story was originally published October 2, 2024 at 11:40 AM.