Labor Day weekend is just around the corner, and though it’ll be hot, we won’t be breaking any temperature records.
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The unofficial end of summer is almost here, but the Labor Day weekend will still very much be feeling like summer.
After a couple of days with seasonal temps in low 90s and stray valley thunderstorms, the final days of August will be part of a warming trend that takes valley temperatures back into the middle and upper 90s, about 5-8 degrees warmer than normal.
And in the high country, it has been a wet end to August. South Lake Tahoe has measured more than eight-tenths of an inch of rain, quite a bit more than Tahoe’s normal August total of 0.36″. That ends by the time we get to the holiday weekend, with no showers or thunderstorms expected.
The reason for the pattern change: high pressure. The high has been positioned over the Desert Southwest, pumping monsoonal moisture into the Sierra and allowing temps around Northern California to fall back toward average. However, for the Labor Day Weekend that high pressure builds back in and sits overhead, bringing an end to high country storms and stamping out the Delta Breeze.
Despite the above-average temperatures for the long weekend, we are nowhere near what we saw for Labor Day weekend in 2022. That weekend saw widespread triple-digit heat, with Sacramento hitting 100° on Saturday, 105° on Sunday, and 114° on Labor Day Monday 2022. That 114° was the hottest temperature of all-time in Sacramento, where records go back to the 1870s! To make matters worse, Sacramento hit 114° again that Tuesday.
Thankfully, we’re not setting any new records this holiday weekend as temps will be hot but nothing truly out of the ordinary.
SATURDAY
Morning temperatures in the valley will be in the upper 50s to low 60s under clear skies. A cool but very seasonal start to the long weekend. Things will be warming up quickly as the day goes on, with temps in the middle to upper 80s by lunchtime. Sunny skies prevail.
Saturday afternoon will top out in the upper 90s for much of the valley, about 6 degrees warmer than normal. Some areas – especially in the upper Sacramento Valley away from the Delta influence – will top out closer to 100°. A slightly more subdued Delta Breeze in the evening with winds topping out around 10-15 mph in the valley. Sunset temperatures in the middle 80s.
If you’re headed to Lake Tahoe, a very pleasant day is expected. Tahoe-area temps climb into the upper 70s to about 80°.
SUNDAY
Sunday will start a touch warmer then Saturday, with morning temps in the low to middle 60s. By lunchtime, temperatures will already be in the upper 80s to low 90s under sunny skies.
Similarly hot Sunday afternoon, with valley temps topping out in the upper 90s to near 100°, potentially the hottest day of the weekend. Another evening with a Delta Breeze on the lower end for the valley, with winds around 15 mph. Valley temperatures in the middle 80s around sunset.
Tahoe highs will again be in the upper 70s and low 80s.
LABOR DAY MONDAY
By Monday – Labor Day and the first day of September – the pattern starts to shift, albeit only marginally.
Morning temperatures are back closer to normal in the upper 50s and low 60s, and lunchtime temps are in the middle and upper 80s.
Monday afternoon highs are still expected to be hot and warmer than normal for the beginning of September, however, likely not quite as hot as the previous couple of days. Middle to upper 90s are expected across the valley for Labor Day. It’s only a 2-4 degrees cooler than Sunday, but it marks the beginning of a slow cooldown that’ll carry over into the rest of the week.
The Delta Breeze will also play more of a factor on Monday, as the onshore winds pick up by late afternoon and gust up towards 25 mph in the valley. A nice evening to end the long weekend, as temps will be in the low 80s by sunset.
In Tahoe, Labor Day will be more of the same! Highs around the lake will be in the mid-70s to near 80°.
