Late-summer heat wave to continue

The Bay Area baked in a heat wave Thursday, with continued hot weather expected over the next several days.

Record highs were broken in several cities, including San Francisco and San Jose, but Santa Rosa's high of 101 degrees was shy of the 108 record for the same date in 1955.

By mid-afternoon Thursday, downtown San Francisco had climbed to 93 degrees, exceeding the record of 90 degrees for the same date in 1961.

"We probably reached the apex of the heat wave today," National Weather Service forecaster Bob Benjamin said Thursday.

The National Weather Service was predicting highs in the upper 90s in downtown Santa Rosa today and Saturday. The culprit is a high-pressure ridge that suppresses the typical sea breeze.

The good news is that even though fire danger remains significant because of the warm and dry conditions, no high winds are forecast to elevate it to a red-flag warning.

Forecasters are predicting Santa Rosa will return to more normal highs of around 82 degrees next week.