Bay Area to see cooler temps, rare chance of summer showers starting Thursday

The Bay Area will get an early taste of sweater weather this week as a gradual cooling trend moves across the region, peaking Thursday night and into Friday, according to the National Weather Service.

Over the next couple of days, an atmospheric disturbance featuring a low-pressure system from the Pacific Northwest will drag cooler than normal temperatures across the area.

"The most interesting thing that's happening here is a cold front moving in. It's a very strong low-pressure for August, if it were winter it would be no big deal," said Weather Service meteorologist Dylan Flynn.

The system really starts to pick up momentum starting mid-Thursday and into Thursday night, when temperatures will drop by about 10 degrees compared to seasonal averages, Flynn said.

In addition to the regional cooling trend and gusty winds, the North Bay will see a 15 percent to 20 percent chance of rain, with a 10 percent chance south of the Golden Gate Bridge.

"It's normal for the winter but pretty strange for August," Flynn said.

After the slow build-up and the possibility of a handful of scattered showers, temperatures are expected to quickly return to normal next week.

"It's not going to be too long lived," Flynn said. "Saturday will be pretty comfortable, but by Sunday and Monday it looks like we're going to slip back into a warming trend."