Suburban houses in Concord, Calif.

A building ridge of high pressure in the Pacific Ocean is sending temperatures soaring in the Bay Area starting Wednesday, with even hotter weather expected Thursday.

Lamont Bain, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service, explained the “culprit” for the rapidly rising temperatures is “offshore flow,” where the wind blows from inland out to the ocean, bringing hot weather to normally cooler coastal regions.

Article continues below this ad

“When we see these offshore flow patterns, that really allows us to bake, because we don’t get the influence of the marine layer,” he told SFGATE.

On Wednesday, temperatures in much of the Bay Area will be 5 to 15 degrees above average, while Thursday temperatures are more likely to run closer to 20 degrees above normal, Bain explained. The North Bay, where red flag warnings have been issued, could see temperatures 25 degrees above normal.

The National Weather Service issued a........

© SFGate