Warm weather topples records in San Francisco, other cities

SAN FRANCISCO – People packed beaches and parks as summer-like weather set records for the day in the San Francisco Bay Area and other Northern California cities.

The National Weather Service says San Francisco reached 74 degrees (23 degrees Celsius) Saturday. That eclipsed the previous high temperature for Feb. 3 by 3 degrees, set in 1992.

Tourists like Janet Stolp of Delaware headed to a popular beach in the city. She told news station KGO-TV that she timed her trip perfectly because it was snowing when she left home.

San Jose reached 78 degrees, 4 notches higher than the 2009 record. The wine-country town of Healdsburg hit a whopping 80 degrees, busting a record set in 1906.

It comes as California is plunging back into drought. Days ago, scientists said more than 40 per cent of the state is in a moderate drought.