Prepare for climate whiplash this week.
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Bay Area weather forecasts run the gamut in the coming days, from the possibility of snow dusting the higher elevations early in the week, to highs potentially hitting 90 degrees by the weekend.
The odd pattern began on Monday morning, when temperatures dropped into the 30's in some parts of the region and some precipitation, including small hail, fell in the North and East Bay in the afternoon.
"We do see the potential, since we have some of these showers popping up around the Bay Area, that some of that rain could actually turn into snow and just give a light dusting to our higher elevations, typically around the 3,000 foot level," Brooke Bingamon, National Weather Service meteorologist, told KCBS Radio.
This includes peaks such as Mt. Diablo, though the sprinkiing won't be enough for residents to play around in and build snowmen.
"I don't think you’re going to be making snow angels, but it will be a little bit of a dusting, enough to appreciate snow if you like snow," Bingamon said.
After unseasonably cold weather to start the week, forecasters expect the region to heat up drastically by the weekend.
"We are going to have a bit of turnaround this week," Bingamon explained. "We are starting with cooler than normal temperature early this week, and we will have a gradual warming trend. So definitely by Saturday we're looking at widespread 80s, and we could even see some potentially low 90 degree weather in the further inland areas."
Bingamon clarified that this unsettled weather is not due to climate change, but rather a typical spring pattern.
"Yes it does seem odd. But this is something that happens in the spring months and the fall months," she said. "That's when at the surface we can heat up because we’ve got all this nice sunshine coming down heating the ground. But sometimes we'll get these cold air systems a lot and when cold is up above and warm is near the ground, that's what creates an unstable atmosphere because normally cold wants to sink and warm wants to rise. So it kind of mixes up the atmosphere."
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