Get ready for possible rain after days of freezing temps

Below-freezing temperatures in Santa Rosa Tuesday didn’t appear to break the record of 26 degrees but still, it’s very cold.

The Charles M. Schulz-Sonoma County Airport showed 28 degrees as the low Tuesday morning and temperatures reported from throughout Santa Rosa showed several in the low 30s, said Matt Mehle, meteorologist with the National Weather Service. An official report of the low for downtown Santa Rosa won’t be available until later Tuesday afternoon but Mehle said the other area temperatures were an indication the record will remain.

It was 22 degrees at the Napa Airport and there were a few new records in various Bay Area cities as temperatures slipped into the mid 20s overnight.

The weather service freeze warning was due to expire at 9 a.m. and while Tuesday should be sunny, it’s not going to generate much warmth. Santa Rosa’s high today is expected to reach a mere 54 degrees, compared to the average temperature of 61 for this date.

And that’s the chilly tone for the rest of the week with temperatures expected to be below normal into the weekend. Friday shows a projected high of 59 degrees, with slightly warmer on Saturday then cooling down again next week.

Rain is possible Tuesday night and Wednesday, but “It’s a very, very, very slight chance,” Mehle said.

The storm has a 20-percent chance of dropping some rain and even if it does, it wasn’t expected to be anything measurable.

But February might see some rainfall before the extra-dry month departs. Meteorologists have been paying attention to a possible system coming next week.

“A storm system will be moving down the California coastline that could give us a good shot at seeing some precipitation,” he said. “It’s one a lot of us are focusing on. Models have been hinting on a pattern change at the end of the month.”