Mild Bay Area summer on path to continue

A summer that has been mostly a mild one in the Bay Area is expected to keep on that path this week despite a slight decompression of the marine level over several days that may push temperatures in the far inland areas a bit higher.

admin August 17, 2026 2 minutes read

Additionally, the marine level’s compression is not likely to be as significant as the National Weather Service anticipated last week, because more low pressure in the upper reaches of the atmoshphere is primed to join the equation again.

“It’s gonna be a day-to-day fluctuation,” NWS meteorologist Cindy Palmer said of the temperatures, which are expected to reach the low-to-mid-80s in the hottest spots — Morgan Hill, Livermore, Concord, San Jose and Petaluma — on Monday and jump up 3-4 degrees by Wednesday. “We’re really looking at slightly below normal to right at normal.”

The marine level was the key to the mild weather that returned to the Bay Area last week, along with low pressure that made the upper atmposphere colder than normal. The trough made the marine level thicker than nomal and created measurable amounts of preciptiation from morning and overnight drizzle along the Bay Coast and in some places inland.

Some of that drizzle in lesser amounts returned Monday morning, according to the weather service. Along with it came thick fog, especially along the coast.

By Wednesday, the far inland areas will get far less of a cooling impact from the marine layer, because it’s expected to be considerably thinner. But a reinforcement may come Thursday as another low-pressure trough is likely to wield influence.

“It’s sitting off the coast, and it’s going to try to make a push,” Palmer said.

As a result, the weather service is forecasting temperatures back in the low 80s in the hottest spots by Thursday and temperatures below their seasonal averages into the weekend.