Record-Breaking Cold Slams Northern California Cities in Rare December Freeze
Northern California shivered through a record-breaking cold day on Friday as an arctic air mass continued to settle over the region, setting temperature records from the coast to the Central Valley.
San Francisco broke a 103-year-old record this week when the city topped out around 50 degrees, beating a mark set in 1922. Vacaville reached just 44 degrees, its coldest high in four years. Sacramento hit 45 degrees, its coldest since 2022. Marysville and Oroville dropped even lower, recording highs of 43 and a bone-chilling 22 degrees.
The National Weather Service issued a cold-weather advisory through Saturday morning for eastern Sonoma County and all of Napa County, warning of temperatures in the 33–36 degree range and upper 20s in higher terrain—conditions especially dangerous for unsheltered residents.
The cold snap won’t last much longer. Forecasters expect temperatures across California to climb above normal next week, with some areas flipping from record cold to potential record warmth. South Lake Tahoe could see four straight days of 60-degree weather from Wednesday through Saturday—remarkable for December, when only five 60-degree days have been recorded there since 1968.
Still, some parts of Northern California may stay chilly. Persistent Tule fog has blanketed the Central Valley and could spill into the Bay Area, keeping temperatures cooler than forecast. Cities like Antioch, Fairfield, Vacaville, Concord, and Benicia are expected to remain cold and foggy into next week.
