Warm temperatures and sunny skies will give way this week to increasingly cooler days and the likelihood of rain throughout the Bay Area, according to the National Weather Service.

During the Easter weekend, temperatures topped out in the 80s in several locations, including San Francisco and Oakland, but those unseasonably warm highs will begin a downward journey starting Monday.

“We are expecting a change in the pattern. It’s going to be pretty substantial,” said Weather Service meteorologist Rachel Kennedy.

On Thursday and Friday, more areas around the region will start dropping into the 60s and low 70s, Kennedy said.

“And that’s when rain starts to return to the forecast. We’re expecting light beneficial rain Thursday through Sunday,” she said.

Rain totals will likely be around a quarter of an inch along most of the Bay shoreline and in lower elevation areas.

Some areas could see as much as three quarters of an inch and higher elevations like the Nort Bay mountains, East Bay Hills and Santa Cruz mountains will see totals of between three quarters of an inch and one inch of rain.

Along with the rain chances, there will also be the potential for thunderstorms — which peaks on Friday afternoon — especially in the interior areas of the East Bay, South Bay and Central Coast.

After the wet weekend, long-range indications are showing the possibility of more low-pressure systems moving through the region, which could bring more rain during the next couple of weeks.

Kiley Russell writes primarily for Local News Matters on issues related to equity and the environment. A Bay Area native, he has lived most of his life in Oakland. He studied journalism at San Francisco State University, worked for the Associated Press and the former Contra Costa Times, among other outlets. He has covered everything from state legislatures, local governments, federal and state courts, crime, growth and development, political campaigns of various stripes, wildfires and the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.