Hot, hot heat...
(written yesterday, but it's about the same today...)
ISO declared Statewide STAGE 2 Electrical Emergency for 07/24/2006 13:00 through 07/24/2006 21:00
A dangerous heat wave with record-breaking temperatures in California and other parts of the Western United States continues to tax the electricity system to the limits of its capacity. According to the California Independent System Operator (CAISO) today’s demand is expected to reach 52,000 megawatts - a demand level not projected for California until the year 2011. Heat stress has already caused a number of localized outages, fires and casualties.
In order to maintain vital services and protect vulnerable citizens in nursing homes, schools, hospitals and other critical care facilities, I am again directing all State agencies, departments, boards and commissions (State Agencies) to continue to reduce electricity usage during peak periods by at least 25 percent during the peak usage period today.
I came to work this morning grateful to be spending part of the day in an air conditioned building; unfortunately, it must have been sweltering in here over the weekend and it didn't really start feeling cooler until almost lunchtime. Midmorning, we got an alert from the governator that all state buildings are to reduce power usage 25% this afternoon to reserve power for things like hospitals and nursing homes - meaning we'll probably have to turn out half the lights - not a big problem, since we have large north-facing windows. However, the thermostat's been turned up so it's getting warmer in here.
I don't remember a hot spell lasting quite this long before, especially with the humidity. It clouded up as the sun was going down Saturday evening; a tall cloud right above my neighborhood was reflecting the weirdest yellow light down on us at about 8:00 pm. Weird because of the color (it was as if I were viewing my street through a yellow filter), and because it was coming from a different direction than it should have been. Several of my neighbors came outside as well, to remark on how eerie it was, and Angus was bouncing around speculating that "aliens were about to invade!" I scrambled to try and find some batteries for my camera, but I think it was mostly past before I found a set of four.
It was still 80°F at about 10:30, bearable, but we poor beach dwellers are spoiled. We just about melt when the temperature goes much above that. At lunch today there was a news item showing my home town's pier and beach and how everyone was trying to escape the heat by going there, but not getting much relief. Most of the older homes here do not have air conditioning, because it's seldom hot more than 2-3 days in a row. It's been close to a solid month now, the kind of weather we don't usually get until September -October. Which makes me wonder what it's going to be like then. I'm hearing about 90°F in Seattle - that's almost unheard of, isn't it?
Not only that but it generates an increase in laundry; John is such a sweater, he soaks three or four shirts in a day.
Another odd thing - normally the squid season here is starts in late October and peters out by March or April. Then it picks up in Monterey, farther north, in the summertime, while here, June usually ends the slow season for mackerel and sardines, and the finfish landings usually pick up. Beginning back in June, however, the squid began spawning again off Catalina Island and the boats again began landing them in amounts comparable to the wintertime, while Monterey is getting barely anything. Sometimes we see squid all year long following an El Niño, but according to anyone at NOAA Fisheries, last year wasn't an El Niño, but it was an anomalous year, climate-wise.
ISO declared Statewide STAGE 2 Electrical Emergency for 07/24/2006 13:00 through 07/24/2006 21:00
A dangerous heat wave with record-breaking temperatures in California and other parts of the Western United States continues to tax the electricity system to the limits of its capacity. According to the California Independent System Operator (CAISO) today’s demand is expected to reach 52,000 megawatts - a demand level not projected for California until the year 2011. Heat stress has already caused a number of localized outages, fires and casualties.
In order to maintain vital services and protect vulnerable citizens in nursing homes, schools, hospitals and other critical care facilities, I am again directing all State agencies, departments, boards and commissions (State Agencies) to continue to reduce electricity usage during peak periods by at least 25 percent during the peak usage period today.
I came to work this morning grateful to be spending part of the day in an air conditioned building; unfortunately, it must have been sweltering in here over the weekend and it didn't really start feeling cooler until almost lunchtime. Midmorning, we got an alert from the governator that all state buildings are to reduce power usage 25% this afternoon to reserve power for things like hospitals and nursing homes - meaning we'll probably have to turn out half the lights - not a big problem, since we have large north-facing windows. However, the thermostat's been turned up so it's getting warmer in here.
I don't remember a hot spell lasting quite this long before, especially with the humidity. It clouded up as the sun was going down Saturday evening; a tall cloud right above my neighborhood was reflecting the weirdest yellow light down on us at about 8:00 pm. Weird because of the color (it was as if I were viewing my street through a yellow filter), and because it was coming from a different direction than it should have been. Several of my neighbors came outside as well, to remark on how eerie it was, and Angus was bouncing around speculating that "aliens were about to invade!" I scrambled to try and find some batteries for my camera, but I think it was mostly past before I found a set of four.
It was still 80°F at about 10:30, bearable, but we poor beach dwellers are spoiled. We just about melt when the temperature goes much above that. At lunch today there was a news item showing my home town's pier and beach and how everyone was trying to escape the heat by going there, but not getting much relief. Most of the older homes here do not have air conditioning, because it's seldom hot more than 2-3 days in a row. It's been close to a solid month now, the kind of weather we don't usually get until September -October. Which makes me wonder what it's going to be like then. I'm hearing about 90°F in Seattle - that's almost unheard of, isn't it?
Not only that but it generates an increase in laundry; John is such a sweater, he soaks three or four shirts in a day.
Another odd thing - normally the squid season here is starts in late October and peters out by March or April. Then it picks up in Monterey, farther north, in the summertime, while here, June usually ends the slow season for mackerel and sardines, and the finfish landings usually pick up. Beginning back in June, however, the squid began spawning again off Catalina Island and the boats again began landing them in amounts comparable to the wintertime, while Monterey is getting barely anything. Sometimes we see squid all year long following an El Niño, but according to anyone at NOAA Fisheries, last year wasn't an El Niño, but it was an anomalous year, climate-wise.