Morgan Hill hits the 100 degree mark
Morgan Hill may have had record-breaking heat Saturday as temperatures climbed to 103 degrees according to the National Weather Service.
But whether the high temperatures broke the local record is unclear because the NWS doesn’t keep a history of the city’s temperatures.
San Jose tied its 1917 record of 97 degrees Saturday and Gilroy, at 104 degrees, broke its 1975 record of 99 degrees, according to the NWS.
Record-breaking or not, the temperature was still a far cry from Friday’s high of 84 degrees. Sunday was still hot, but only reached 96 degrees. Temperatures are expected to remain in the 90s for the rest of the week.
Greg Fishman, public information officer for the California Independent System Operator, which tracks energy usage across the state, reported the demand for energy in all of Northern California was 18,000 megawatts on Friday, July 22, and then rose to 19,500 megawatts on Saturday, declining somewhat on Sunday to 19,200 megawatts. One megawatt will power about 750 homes.
“There certainly was a substantial jump on Saturday, with temperatures being so high in the area,” Fishman said.
PG&E spokesperson Paul Moreno reported the company’s service area, from Bakersfield to Eureka, had a peak load of 19,376 megawatts on Saturday and 19,178 megawatts on Sunday. But last weekend wasn’t the record-breaker, he said, it was actually Saturday, July 16, when the peak load for the area reached 19,914 megawatts, “the highest ever.”
Nonetheless, PG&E and the state systems operator still announced a Flex Your Power event over the weekend, calling for California residents to conserve power during the afternoon hours to prevent energy shortages.
Moreno said while temperatures on Saturday were high, some of the Bay Area was cooled by fog.
“That could explain why usage was not as high even if temperatures skyrocketed,” he explained.
Moreno said on a typical summer weekend the peak load usually ranges from 16,000 to 17,000 megawatts in Northern California.
The notion that people were worried about their grass and plants being dehydrated was quickly dismissed as Morgan Hill Utility Systems Manager Mario Iglesias disclosed people weren’t too keen on watering their yards on that hot day. Iglesias said average usage per day is 11 million gallons. Saturday’s consumption just reached 10.76 million.
“When it’s that hot, I guess people aren’t inclined to be outside watering their yards. It was nowhere near that level (the average usage of 11 million),” said Iglesias. He also dispelled any worries of a shortage of water if hot days continue. “Our system is holding out, the city will be able to meet the community’s need.”
With fire season well underway, the weekend’s temperatures could have contributed to more than a few grass fires.
“Yes, the temperatures were up, but the humidity was also up quite a bit,” Santa Clara County Fire Department Battalion Chief Ken Kehmna said Monday. “That really helped, especially with the light fuels.”
Kehmna said there were no fires in the Morgan Hill area over the weekend. This year’s fire season could have been severe, with an abundance of “fuel,” or brush and grasses.
“Because of the late rains, we have a lot of fuel, a second growth in some areas,” Kehmna said. “When the humidity is low and the fuel is dry, a spark can quickly cause a vegetation fire.”
Morgan Hill was also fortunate in that there were no problems over the weekend with heat stroke or heat exhaustion.
“We were very fortunate that we didn’t see anything heat-related like that,” said Kehmna. “When you look at the target populations for that, the elderly and the indigent, well, our elderly are well cared-for, and we don’t have many indigent.”
The hot weather did not bring people outside on Saturday, but as soon as temperatures dipped a little bit the next day, many decided to cool off at the community’s Aquatic Center. In fact, city officials report, “Sunday’s attendance was the best ever, with 1,326 people” admitted into the facility. The previous Sunday also saw good numbers, they said, with an admission count of 1,223 people.
