Oppressive heat flabbergasting you? Meteorologists perplexed as well.
High temperatures break records, lead to outdoor event cancellations
As a heat wave bore down on the Bay Area, residents braced themselves Thursday as afternoon temperatures ramped up so fast they left weather forecasters in awe and prompted cancellation of outdoor events.
By 1 p. m. Thursday, Bay Area temperatures already had jumped 20 to 23 degrees hot- ter than they were at the same time Wednesday.
“My jaw was on the floor,’’ said National Weather Service meteorologist Brian Garcia after he saw the data. “When we see those types of 24-hour changes in high temperatures, it really spells out there is a major pattern shift occurring. That is remarkable, just remarkable.’’
The mercury hit a new Aug. 31 record Thursday in San Ra-
fael of 99 degrees, topping 93 degrees on Aug. 31, 1998, National Weather Service meteorologist Steve Anderson said. San Jose was 95 degrees, matching an Aug. 31 record in 1943. It was 90 in Oakland and 86 in San Francisco, both approaching records for the date that have stood more than half a century.
And the furnace- like conditions are only expected to soar through the holiday weekend, with a peak Friday and Saturday that forecasters say could have the Livermore Valley approaching a Death Valley-like, 115- degree record set 67 years ago. Anderson said Livermore is expected to hit 113 Friday and 114 Saturday, the hottest temperatures forecast for the Bay Area. Temperatures will begin to ease throughout the region Sunday.
On top of that, smoke from wildfires in Northern California and Oregon has arrived in the East Bay and Peninsula, reducing visibility in some places and increasing concentrations of soot.
“The smoke has been moving toward us for several days and now it’s here,” said Kristine Roselius, a spokeswoman for the Bay Area Air Quality Management District.
The double whammy of smoke and smog has led the district to issue a Spare the Air alert for what they predict will be unhealthy smog levels on Friday for the Bay Area. And it has prompted cancellation of events, including the Livermore Winegrowers Harvest Festival Harvest, and changed hours of other public and sporting events, and school hours.
Roselius said unhealthy smog concentrations are expected to reduce visibility as well this week. However, the smog doesn’t reach its peak until late afternoons.
The 36th annual Livermore wine festival had been expected to draw 1,000 or more people Sunday afternoon to an outdoor sports field at Las Positas College, but organizers pulled the plug out of concern for the health of visitors and staff.
“Our first priority is the health and welfare of our community,” said Chris Chandler, executive director of the Livermore Valley Winegrowers Associa- tion. “The excessive heat forecasted by local and national weather services is a safety risk we are not willing to take.”
Chandler said the wine growers board considered moving the event indoors, but there wasn’t enough time to find a new location.
Festival tickets will be refunded and the event will not be rescheduled this year, the association said.
For many, Thursday’s temperatures were smothering.
In Gilroy, where it soared to 98 degrees on Thursday, solar panel installers with Poco Solar Energy in Santa Clara knew to start work extra early, before the roofs get so hot and soft they can’t walk on them safely, said Jonathan Gonzalez, the company’s customer relations and marketing coordinator.
Over at the Beaver Creek Smokehouse in Martinez, co- owner Robert Zavatero, 59, posted a note early Thursday afternoon on the restaurant’s door alerting customers that the extreme heat would temporarily cut hours of operation because “our equipment will not work properly when overheated.’’
Meanwhile, state offi- cials are asking all California residents to conserve their power use during peak afternoon and evening hours Friday as they look to keep the state’s power grid humming along over the Labor Day weekend.
The California Independent System Operator Corporation issued a voluntary Flex Alert on Thursday that calls for sparing use of high- consumption appliances like A/C units and washing machines between the 1 p.m. and 10 p.m. Friday.
For those who do use air- conditioning, the agency suggests that thermostats should be set at 78 degrees or higher. ISO manages about 80 percent of electricity use in the state.
Garcia said the heat wave is occurring because of a large area of high pressure from the Pacific Ocean is moving over the region and heading to the Nevada/ Utah area. For now, he said, it appears the the East Bay is being affected most by the high pressure, and the reason Livermore, Walnut Creek are posting triple digit numbers.
“And so we are seeing this area of high pressure act like a heat dome,’’ Garcia said, explaining that the strength of the high pressure creates a downward motion which can trap the heat and doesn’t allow clouds to form. “So then you just get more sun and heat and sun and heat.’’
Where to flee for cool and comfort? Most cities around the Bay Area have opened “cooling centers” inside their community and senior centers.
Ice skating rinks could be a better option. At the Ice Center in the old Vallco Shopping Center in Cupertino, skating school director Sheri Callison said that when the heat rises, so do the numbers of customers.
“I would say families of all ages,’’ said Callison. Adjacent movie theaters also beckon those who want to stay out of the sun, she added.
But fans of the Solar4America Ice, formerly known as Sharks Ice, are out of luck this weekend at both the San Jose and Fremont locations, because the facilities are hosting youth ice hockey tournaments.
“Unfortunately with the tournaments going on this weekend, we don’t have public session free skate or ice skating,’’ said Salvatore Barranco. “It’s kind of bad timing, but we always have this tournament on Labor Day.’’
That doesn’t mean people can’t come to the rink to cool down while watching the players, and grab a bite to eat, he said.
Staff writers Mark Gomez, Cam Inman, Darren Sabedra, Sam Richards and Sharon Noguchi contributed to this report. Contact Tracy Seipel at 408-920- 5343, Denis Cuff at 925-943-8267 and Robert Salonga at 408920- 5002.