Wet Weekend Expected After Record Cold

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- Californians can expect a warmer but mostly wet weekend after a Thanksgiving cold snap broke or tied cold-temperature records -- some more than a century old.

The National Weather Service reports that San Francisco's low of 42 degrees on Thursday tied a record set back in 1892. Across the bay in Oakland, 36-degree daytime temperatures shattered the old record of 42.

The mercury in Los Angeles dropped to 42, tying a 1946 record.

Stockton saw a record low temperature of 27 degrees Thursday morning, while Sacramento tied a record low of 30.

Bakersfield and Fresno both saw a record-lowest high temperature of 49.

Subfreezing temperatures in the Central Valley threatened to damage the billion-dollar crop. But growers working through the night used warm water and wind machines to keep the cold at bay.

Nighttime temperatures in the state's citrus growing region fell to an average of 28 degrees Thursday -- even colder than the night before.

Citrus damage can occur when temperatures drop to 28 degrees for four hours or longer.

The uncommonly cold temperatures were the combined result of a dry, north-moving weather system that kept clouds away and a cold Arctic air mass that settled over the Great Basin, said National Weather Service forecaster David Spector.

But as the cold front moves out of the region, a storm system moving into the state is expected to bring precipitation and higher temperatures over the weekend.

Showers are in the forecast for much of Northern California through Saturday, while snow is expected in the Sierra Nevada.

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