Vacaville, Oakland experience unusual early morning 'heat bursts'

This evening's sunset from the Oakland Hills on Tuesday Jan. 24, 2017, in Oakland, Ca. This evening's sunset from the Oakland Hills on Tuesday Jan. 24, 2017, in Oakland, Ca. Photo: Michael Macor, The Chronicle Buy photo Photo: Michael Macor, The Chronicle Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Vacaville, Oakland experience unusual early morning 'heat bursts' 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

The cities of Vacaville and Oakland were the sites of odd meteorological occurrences early Friday morning: intense, brief heat spikes.

Right around midnight in Vacaville, temperatures in the city surged 15 degrees, from 80 degrees to a hot 95 — but only for a few minutes, as local publication The Reporter noted.

Then, at 5 a.m., the Oakland Hills reported a similar rise in temperature, shooting from 73 degrees at 4 a.m. to 85 degrees at 5 a.m., and then rapidly descending to a cool 67 degrees at 6 a.m., as ABC 7 reports.

Photo: National Weather Service A quick primer on heat bursts, courtesy of the National Weather...

The phenomenon, called a "heat burst," can occur following a thunderstorm in the spring and summer months. When rain evaporates into cold air and descends towards the ground, it compresses and begins to heat, resulting in a quick surge in temperature.

"It's not usual to have it in California, but it can happen," Anna Schneider, meteorologist with the National Weather Service tells SFGATE. "The heat happens when cold surge of air is accelerating downwards...It typically happens as thunderstorms are decaying."

Alyssa Pereira is an SFGATE staff writer. Email her at apereira@sfchronicle.com or find her on Twitter at @alyspereira.

