Ready for high 70s? Sacramento forecast to break at least 3 heat records this week
If there’s such a thing as a February heat wave, Northern California may be in the midst of one.
For Sacramento, a city that has seen high temperatures historically in the low 60s for most of February, temperatures have already maxed out in the 70s five times this month.
Now, the capital is expected to crack 75 degrees four times this week alone, a swelter compared to the seasonal norm.
The latest forecasts by the National Weather Service show the high temperatures for the next four days, Tuesday through Friday, tying or breaking Sacramento’s all-time records in Sacramento.
After a high of 71 degrees Monday, forecasts show Tuesday heating up to 76, then 77 on Wednesday, 78 by Thursday and back down to 75 on Friday. Each day will be mostly sunny with minimal wind, according to the NWS.
If those marks are reached, Tuesday’s temperature would tie a record and the rest of the workweek would exceed the records for those days. The Feb. 25-27 records are each 76 degrees and the Feb. 28 all-time mark is 74 degrees.
Leap years make record tracking a bit tricky, but the Feb. 28 and March 1 record highs for Sacramento are each 74 degrees, and Saturday doesn’t appear to be putting that mark at risk as of the latest forecasts.
If you were hoping to bust out the blankets and picnic baskets, it won’t be quite as warm as February turns to March. Highs will drop to about 69 degrees on Saturday (leap day) and to 64 by Sunday.
Forecasts show Sunday could also bring a slight chance of light showers, which would be a welcome start to a new month after a totally dry February.
The NWS Sacramento page on Twitter posted a startling infographic Sunday. So far this February, Sacramento – at 0.00 inches – has received less rain than Death Valley (0.18 inches), Las Vegas (0.25 inches) and Phoenix (1.34 inches). The city of trees has never had a completely rain-free month of February, coming closest in 1899 at 0.04 inches.
The NWS also tweeted that temperatures throughout interior Northern California could break records, with many cities forecast this week to reach 10 to 20 degrees above normal for those dates.
This story was originally published February 24, 2020 at 9:47 AM.
