A man drowned at Marina State Beach while swimming on the evening of the 27th after being caught in a rip current. The man was rescued by bystanders and police but did not survive.
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Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.
The episode as NWS MTR wrote it up.
A man drowned at Marina State Beach while swimming on the evening of the 27th after being caught in a rip current. The man was rescued by bystanders and police but did not survive. An early season heat event hit the Bay Area at the end of the month with a handful of daily record highs broken across the region. This may have contributed to an increase in beach activity.
The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.
NWS San Francisco Bay Area, CA wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at May 27, 3:47 PM PST, 43 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service San Francisco Bay Area
447 PM PDT Wed May 27 2020
.SYNOPSIS...Interior locations will remain very warm on Thursday
where a Heat Advisory remains in effect. Cooler temperatures return
to the coast on Thursday and region-wide on Friday as onshore flow
increases. There is a chance of rain showers late Friday night into
Saturday when isolated thunderstorms will also be possible.
&&
.DISCUSSION...as of 01:52 PM PDT Wednesday...High pressure
continues to dominate our weather pattern this afternoon as a
590dm 500mb ridge extends northward into southern and central
California. The 12Z OAK sounding indicated a 850mb temperature of
22.75 deg C (just shy of the daily record) and 27.15 deg C at
925mb (record for the date). This has maintained very warm to
downright hot conditions across the interior while temperatures
have trended cooler near the coastline. Upper 60s to middle 70s
will be common near the coast with lower 80s just inland.
Meanwhile, interior valley locations have already reached into the
upper 90s.
The cooling trend that started today near the coast will increase
and spread inland on Thursday as onshore flow increases and a
possible marine layer develops overnight. However, temperatures will
remain mild in the hills overnight and the interior will again warm
well into the upper 80s to lower 90s on Thursday afternoon. Thus,
the Heat Advisory remains in effect through tomorrow evening given
the cumulative effect of the prolonged period of very warm to hot
inland temperatures.
By Friday, region-wide cooling is likely to occur as the mid/upper
level ridge shifts inland and the closed low pressure system to it's
west approaches the central California coast. This will bring an end
to our ongoing heat event with daytime temperatures in the 60s to
70s near the coast to 70s to mid 80s inland. The latest thinking is
the aforementioned low will approach the San Francisco Bay Area and
Central Coast Friday afternoon/evening before pushing inland over
the North Bay Friday night into Saturday morning. This will
initially bring the potential for high-based thunderstorms to the
northern portion of the region Friday night as upper level
instability increases. With this, dry lightning cannot be ruled out
and would be a concern for fire starts given this weeks very hot
temperatures and drying conditions. As the core of the low pushes
inland on Saturday, rain showers will be possible over much of the
region with the potential for surface based thunderstorms across the
San Francisco Bay Area. Given the fire weather concerns, we will
monitor the situation closely. As mentioned in previous discussions,
it is worth noting that larger fuels are still holding onto some
moisture from earlier rains which will limit the threat for
widspread fire concerns.
Conditions then dry out late Saturday into Sunday, with temperatures
generally near to slightly below seasonal averages. Unsettled
conditions potentially return Sunday night into Monday as another
system approaches and pushes across the region. Drier weather and
slightly warmer temperatures look to return by the middle of next
week.
&&
.AVIATION...as of 4:46 PM PDT Wednesday...For 00z TAFs. Clear
skies over land provides VFR conditions while a stratus deck
moves southward just off the California coast. With the presence
of the stratus offshore and combining that with earlier model
guidance hinting at the return early tomorrow morning (~12z/15z)
TEMPO groups were added to the TAF for the chance of lower cigs at
Bay Area terminals. However, the dry air in place over the region
keeps confidence low, which is why it was left out of the
prevailing line item. Winds are currently breezy and onshore, but
will weaken overnight.
Vicinity of KSFO...VFR currently with breezy onshore winds with an
occasional stronger gust. Winds will reduce overnight, but a
return of stratus over the Pacific keeps a slight chance of low
clouds developing over the Bay early tomorrow morning. It would be
a question of whether or not the dry air over the region and
remain resolute enough to block moisture trying to move on shore,
therefore confidence is low for low clouds development. By 18z,
skies should break for VFR conditions tomorrow with onshore winds
increasing in the afternoon.
SFO Bridge Approach...Similar to KSFO.
Monterey Bay Terminals...VFR currently with breezy northwest
winds. Stratus clouds are slowly moving south down the California
coast and are slowly wrapping towards the MRY peninsula. Slight
chance of low cloud development over area terminals, but there
with the northwest surge, there is growing confidence that KMRY
will see lower cigs and vis overnight tonight and early tomorrow
morning as winds ease. By 18z Thursday, clouds will break inland,
while stratus lingers over the ocean. Winds are expected to become
breezy in the afternoon.
&&
.CLIMATE...
Record highs May 27
-----------------------------------
Santa Rosa 94/1984
Kentfield 99/1919
Napa 102/1984
Richmond 98/1984
San Francisco DT 85/1933
SFO Airport 97/1984
Redwood City 98/1984
Half Moon Bay 72/1982
Oakland DT 100/1984
San Jose 101/1984
Gilroy 101/1974
Santa Cruz 93/1984
Salinas Airport 99/1984
King City 104/1984
&&
.MARINE...as of 02:24 PM PDT Wednesday...Northwest winds will
continue to ease across the coastal waters into tomorrow with
locally breezy winds persisting over the northern waters into
tonight. Generally light to locally moderate northwest winds
expected tomorrow before winds gradually turn southerly on Friday
as an upper low moves through from the southwest. This system will
bring a slight chance of thunderstorms over the northern waters
Friday night into Saturday. Mixed seas will persist with a short
period northwest swell and a longer period southwest swell. A
longer period northwest swell will arrive later this week.
&&
.MTR WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
.Tday...Heat Advisory...CAZ506-507-510>513-516>518-528
SCA...Pigeon Pt to Pt Pinos 0-10 nm
SCA...Pt Arena to Pigeon Pt 10-60 nm
SCA...Pt Arena to Pt Reyes 0-10 nm
SCA...Pt Reyes to Pigeon Pt 0-10 nm
&&
PUBLIC FORECAST: RGass
AVIATION: DK
MARINE: AS
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www.youtube.com/nwsbayareaThe national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 rip current. Local standard time, as filed.
A man drowned at Marina State Beach while swimming on the evening of the 27th after being caught in a rip current. The man was rescued by bystanders and police but did not survive.
As the offices recorded each death: direct deaths were caused by the weather itself, indirect ones by something it set in motion.
| Event | Date | Age | Sex | Where | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rip Current, Southern Monterey Bay and Big Sur Coast | 2020-05-27 | Male | In Water | Direct |
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in California in 2020Every state in 2020This day in weather historyWarnings in California, May 2020
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 884487.