May 1, 2020 – Warm weather will continue with highs trending slightly cooler thru the weekend. There is a chance of showers north of I-80 late Saturday through Sunday.
Discussion
Mostly clear skies cover the region early this morning. Current temperatures are running cooler compared to 24 hours ago and generally range from the mid 30s in the coldest mountain valleys, to the mid 50s to mid 60s across the Central Valley.
Flat ridging continues across the region today into Saturday with weak short-waves bringing occasional mid and high cloud cover. Continuing onshore flow will keep temperatures today pretty similar to Thursday`s readings, then thicker cloud cover and a bit more synoptic cooling will lead to further cooling on Saturday.
Late-season frontal system will move into far northern California Saturday afternoon before washing out Saturday night as it moves further inland. QPF is expected to be light and mainly limited to the northern third of the forecast area. Amounts of a few hundredths of an inch will be possible across the northern Sacramento Valley, with up to a quarter inch across the surrounding higher terrain.
Another weak system may bring a few light showers to areas north of I-80 on Sunday. Ridging begins to return on Monday for a return to dry and milder weather.
Extended Discussion (Tuesday through Friday)
High pressure across the west coast Tuesday will result in above average temperatures and dry weather across interior NorCal. Ridging breaks down slightly mid-week as a compact trough passes to the north, although precipitation chances remain north of the area. Continued dry conditions and increasing temperatures expected through the week with Valley temperatures possibly back into the 90s by Thursday.