Sacramento breaks temperature record on frosty morning. When will the cold spell end?
Frigid temperatures in Sacramento and across the valley set new record lows Thursday morning amid a nationwide cold snap.
The National Weather Service recorded a low of 27 degrees at Sacramento Executive Airport, sliding under the daily record of 29 degrees for Feb. 24.
The capital remained below freezing as of 7:30 a.m., reported by the weather service at 30 degrees, and is forecast to reach 57 degrees by afternoon.
The weather service has a hard freeze warning in place throughout the Sacramento Valley through 9 a.m. in response to the below-freezing temperatures.
Sacramento opened City Hall as an overnight weather respite center for homeless residents, joining Elk Grove and Sacramento County, which opened warming centers Tuesday night. City Hall will open again Thursday night; the Elk Grove and county-run centers will open Thursday and Friday nights.
Stockton also reached 27 degrees early Thursday morning, setting a new daily mark by one degree. Redding tied its record at 25 degrees. All three cities’ previous records for the date had been set in 2018, according to the weather service.
The average overnight low in Sacramento this time of year is about 45 degrees. The coldest February day ever recorded in the city was 21 degrees, nearly 140 years ago on Feb. 13, 1884.
Forecasts show Sacramento dropping to 30 degrees Thursday night and 32 degrees Friday night before warming into the 40s by the weekend, as daytime highs rise into the 60s.
Sacramento will see a slight chance of rain Sunday, according to the weather service. It has been 47 days without measurable rainfall at the capital, closing in on an all-time record for the winter months.
This story was originally published February 24, 2022 at 8:09 AM.
