San Francisco Bay Area Residents Swelter As 'Mini-Heat Wave' Sends Temperatures Soaring

SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) -- San Francisco Bay Area residents were seeking relief at local beaches and parks as a high-pressure system cranked up temperatures to the 90s for communities in the East and South Bay.

Among the highs setting records for this date were the cities of Oakland at 88 (old record 87), 94 in San Jose (old record 93), Gilroy at 97 (old record 94), Santa Rosa at 92 (old record 90), and Livermore at 91 (old record 89). Both SFO and Half Moon Bay tied previous record highs with SFO coming in at 89 and Half Moon Bay heating up to 80.

The National Weather Service warned local residents to be cautious during the 'mini-heat wave' as temperatures were predicted to soar as much as 20 degrees above normal.

"Take appropriate breaks, stay hydrated, limit activities during peak heating of the day," forecasters said. "Look before you lock your car, and never leave pets or people in a car."

BART also posted a warning for passengers.

"It's possible you may encounter a 'hot car', where riders inside one of our older train cars may feel quite hot and uncomfortable," transit officials tweeted. "If you believe you are in a hot car, please tweet at us with the train car number so we can get it fixed ASAP."

Concord Community Park was already busy Thursday morning as East Bay residents got outside early to avoid the warm-up later.

"Beating the heat! Getting the dog out for a good run and grabbing our groceries and going home to stay in the air conditioning," said Julie Sachel of her plans for the day.

Temperatures in Concord were expected in the 90s by the afternoon.

"Although I'm not ready for the heat yet. Not in April," she said.

Kevin Gee was out on the tennis courts getting a little exercise in while he could.

"Yeah, I knew it was going to be around 90, so I gotta beat the heat, man! It's going to be hot, so I gotta get the workout in," he explained.

Gee said he has played in 100-degree weather before and remembered how brutal it was. He's not risking it Thursday.

"Can't do it today. It's going to be too hot," he said.

Down in the South Bay, people were doing their best to fend off the high temperatures.

Arthur Tang and his son came to the fountains at the Plaza de Cesar Chavez in downtown San Jose, trying to cool off on this hot April day.

"The weather is getting hotter and hotter!" exclaimed Tang. "We just checked the weather forecast and it says we're going to 90 to 95 and I was like, 'Wow! It's the beginning of April and it's already 90 degrees!' That's why I brought my son here."

Sarah Delwood also brought her little one to the fountains to cool off. She says it's too early in the year for this type of heat.

"It's kinda crazy. We gotta turn the AC on today and turn the heat on this weekend," Delwood said. "I sure would like it to stay cooler for a few more days. Summer is a long time. I love the cool weather!"

AV Teputepu and his family were out on the Calero Reservoir, trying to stay cool with a water fight.

"Grilling in a minute. Hamburgers hot links. We're gonna be grilling it up today!" Teputepu laughed. "Man, we out here sweating trying to have a good time. Positive vibes. We like it out here on the lake!"

Timothy Rudolph and his friends were also at the reservoir, enjoying the day out on his boat.

"The fishing is good, the weather's good, the water's good! It's all good! Rudolph said. "We fished all morning this morning. We're going to go wake surf, tube and enjoy the water. Maybe have an alcoholic beverage, or not. Who knows? We're out here having a good time!"

Generally, new records would set across Northern California on Thursday but only a few may be challenged.

"It should be noted that a similar heatwave occurred in early April back in 1989 and many of those records may still stand," the weather service said. "Therefore, it is uncertain how many records may or may not be broken."

On April 7, 1989, temperatures soared to 98 in Salinas to 92 in downtown San Francisco.

It's not just the Bay Area that is locked in the heatwave. Southern California will also be sweltering.

"High temperatures are forecast to challenge records by this afternoon with readings possibly reaching the century mark near Los Angeles," the weather service said. "Gusty Santa Ana winds could also make an appearance as the Rockies high pressure system builds southward."

Such warm blasts across the state generally strains the power to the max. State officials say thankfully this is a short-term heat up with temperatures falling on Friday and through the weekend.

"Problems get really bad when we have many days of severe heat in a row," said Steven Weissman of the UC Berkeley School of Public Policy and a former administrative law judge for the California Public Utilities Commission.

Weissman said strains on the power grid will happen this summer, but this short burst of hot weather won't be enough to do it.

"It's not that occasional day like we might have [Thursday].... It's that extended period where you have 3, 4, 5 days in a row where the temperatures are up in that range," he explained.

While keeping the lights on will not be a problem, the drying hillsides are. Thursday's release of the latest federal Drought Monitor showd that over the last three months, California has gone from 16 percent of the state in extreme drought condition three months ago to 40.6 percent on Thursday.

The benefits of the early winter rains have all but disappeared with summer still months away.

"The recent rains brought a brief reprieve on fire weather charts, but that will be quickly erased," the weather service said. "Heightened fire weather concerns will return by week's end with warm, dry, and breezy conditions."

In:
• Drought