A “crisp, fall-like weekend”: Bay Area to see a cold, dry holiday break

Make sure to pack jackets and sweaters for the Thanksgiving weekend, as the Bay Area can expect crisp air and cold temperatures Thursday through Sunday.

Temperatures across the Bay Area will peak in the 50s and 60s as lows dip down into the 30s in some cities. The coldest temperatures will pass through on Thursday and Friday before slightly warming up Saturday.

“It’s going to be drier,” said Dalton Behringer, meteorologist at the National Weather Service. “It’s going to be a nice, dry, cool, crisp, fall-like weekend.”

Following the drenched conditions of last week’s record-breaking atmospheric river storm, and a weaker series of showers that passed over the region this week, the weather this weekend will be non-notable in comparison. Now that the rain has departed to the center of the United States, the cold front traveling behind it is able to settle down atop the Bay Area, Behringer said.

“As far as our region goes, it’s going to be pretty clear,” said Nicole Sarment, NWS meteorologist. “No precipitation expected, no crazy wind or anything. It’s just going to be cold.”

In San Jose, highs on Thursday through the weekend are expected to reach the low to mid-60s, while the lows will sit around the high 30s and low 40s, Sarment said.

In the East Bay, Oakland can expect temperatures in the low- to mid-60s and lows in the low to mid-40s, Sarment added.

Inland, Walnut Creek will reach a high of only 58 on Thursday, with similar temperatures in the high 50s and low 60s through Sunday. The lows will dip to a frigid 35 on Thursday and Friday before creeping into the high 30s and low 40s through Sunday.

Across the bay in San Francisco, highs will peak in the high 50s and low 60s and dip to the low to mid-40s, Sarment said.

Travel nationwide over the holiday weekend may be impacted by a stormy Northeast, which is getting hit by the same weather that passed through the Bay Area last weekend, Behringer said. The storm should pass through the mid-Atlantic region and clear out of New York by Friday afternoon before lingering in the Northeast through Saturday.

Travel should not be impacted by weather conditions in the Bay Area, Behringer said. The state as a whole is “clear going through the weekend,” he added, noting that some areas of Southern California may experience a slight drizzle of rain.

Temperatures in some parts of the North Bay and interior areas of the Central Coast will hit freezing, Behringer added.

Sarment said that people who are driving far for the holiday should be sure to prepare their vehicles.

“Just prepare the car, have extra food and water, blankets, stuff like that, in case something goes awry,” she said.

For those traveling through the Sierras, the mountains are not expected to see rain or snow this weekend as a drying pattern moved in Wednesday, said Gigi Giralte, a meteorologist for NWS Reno. There is a low chance some precipitation could return early next week.

“Maybe a couple drops [will] fall from the sky, but we’re not expecting any impacts with that,” she said.

The Sierras will see warmer temperatures through the rest of the week, with temperatures peaking in the 50s at lower elevations and in the 40s higher up Thursday, she said. By the weekend, low temperatures will sit in the 20s.

“Clear skies, clear visibility, good potential for good travel for this weekend expected. Nothing really impacting that,” she said. “We’re looking to be cool, calm and collected looking into next week.”