Heat Melts Temperature Records in Bay Area

by Charles Burress

For the second day in a row, the mercury reached record-setting heights around the Bay Area Wednesday.

The 73 degrees reached at San Francisco airport was something of a show stopper for the National Weather Service.

"Today's high of 73 at SFO is not only record breaking for today, but it is also the all-time warmest January day at SFO since records began in 1945," said weather service meteorologist Logan Johnson in a special note to the news media.

Salinas airport likewise saw its hottest day for the entire month, hitting 83 degrees, breaking the old January high of 79 set in 2009.

Ten locations in the greater Bay Area set new records for Jan. 15, and one city, Mountain View, tied its old record of 72.

The number of record highs on Wednesday more than doubled those seen on Tuesday, another unseasonably warm day, according to the weather service.

This list from the National Weather Service shows the new Jan. 15 records along with the old records and the year that the old records were set:

LOCATION                       TODAY  OLD RECORD  YEAR
KENTFIELD..........................  68            67            1945 
NAPA...................................  72            70            1966
SAN FRANCISCO AIRPORT..... 73*          69            1974 
DOWNTOWN OAKLAND.......... 76           75            2009
OAKLAND AIRPORT................ 77           74            2009 
MOUNTAIN VIEW................... 72 (TIE)  72            2009 
GILROY................................. 75           72            2012 
MONTEREY............................ 82           76            2009 
SANTA CRUZ......................... 82           75            2009 
SALINAS............................... 85           79            2009 
SALINAS AIRPORT................. 83*         78            2009

*All time high for January