The National Weather Service forecast for the greater San Francisco Bay Area calls for warmer weather Tuesday, as the region shakes off several cooler days just in time for the autumnal equinox and the astronomical start of fall.
The region will see mostly cloudy skies with a slight chance of patchy fog and drizzle in some areas, and mostly sunny skies inland, according to the NWS. Daytime highs will be mostly in the mid 60s to low 70s on the coast, high 60s to high 70s around the Bay, and low to mid 80s inland. Overnight lows will be in the mid to high 50s.
Stratus clouds spread overnight into the North Bay valleys, Monterey Bay region, Salinas Valley, and East Bay west of the Berkeley Hills. Patches of clouds were also present near Livermore and north of San Jose.
The clouds were expected to pull back toward the immediate coast by late morning or early afternoon. The marine layer is expected to be more compressed Tuesday night, making it less certain how far inland the clouds will spread, forecasters say.
According to the NWS, onshore winds will pick up Tuesday afternoon and evening, with the strongest gusts reaching 20 to 30 mph along the coast, through favored gaps and passes and in the northern Salinas Valley.
Tuesday also marks the autumnal equinox and the start of astronomical fall. The equinox occurs at 5:05 p.m. Pacific time, when the sun’s apparent path crosses the equator, bringing roughly equal amounts of daylight and nighttime, the NWS says.