People visit Ocean Beach in San Francisco, Tuesday, March 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A rare winter heat wave is sweeping across the western United States, bringing unusually high temperatures and early-season records from California to the desert Southwest. In San Francisco, where fog and cool summers are the norm, residents shed layers and flocked to Crissy Field as temperatures climbed into the 80s and 90s, marking the city’s hottest March in decades.
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This is a photo gallery curated by AP photo editors.
New roadway material is spread out as a paving crew with McGuire & Hester lays new asphalt, as temperatures in the bay area began to climb in Oakland, Calif., on Monday, March 16, 2026. (Carlos Avila Gonzalez/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)Enrique Martinez carries his 11-year-old dog Pepe so it doesn’t have to walk on the hot sand at Crissy Field in San Francisco, Tuesday, March 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)People and dogs walk in a large puddle at Ocean Beach in San Francisco, Tuesday, March 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)A man runs past at Crissy Field, backdropped by the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, Tuesday, March 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)People buy ice cream treats from a paletero at Crissy Field East Beach in San Francisco, Tuesday, March 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)Carol Hather wears sun protective gear as she walks at Crissy Field in San Francisco, Tuesday, March 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)Two women sit in the shade under a tree while visiting Shoreline Park in Mountain View, Calif., Monday, March 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)People lounge in the sand at Crissy Field East Beach backdropped by the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, Tuesday, March 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)Heat waves from the road rise as people walk along The Great Highway in San Francisco, Tuesday, March 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)A jogger runs past as a man sunbathes at Crissy Field in San Francisco, Tuesday, March 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)
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