{"id":24464,"date":"2012-09-30T19:03:15","date_gmt":"2012-10-01T02:03:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.kqed.org\/climatewatch\/?p=24464"},"modified":"2018-02-01T22:16:41","modified_gmt":"2018-02-01T22:16:41","slug":"autumn-makes-a-sultry-entrance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ww2.kqed.org\/climatewatch\/2012\/09\/30\/autumn-makes-a-sultry-entrance\/","title":{"rendered":"Autumn Makes a Sultry Entrance"},"content":{"rendered":"

California’s heat wave came late and is staying late<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Sunset on San Pablo Bay. Coastal areas saw a balmy end to September, accompanied by air quality alerts.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Great American Heat Wave of 2012 arrived later in California<\/a> than in many parts of the country — and it’s in no hurry to leave.<\/p>\n

Having nudged the upper 90s on Sunday, Sacramento closed out the month of September with a record 26 days of 90-plus highs, surpassing the 1974 record of 24 days. The trend is forecast to continue into the first several days of October, with a chance of hitting 100 for the first time since mid-August. Farther north, Sacramento Valley towns like Redding and Red Bluff are suffering similar bake-offs.<\/p>\n

Dry heat persisted up and down California, accompanied by red-flag warnings for fire danger along the South Coast<\/a>. Of course, it’s that time of year, when the sea breeze backs around and “offshore flows” become the dreaded Santa Anas<\/a> (in the south) and Diablos (in the north), notorious for fanning catastrophic wildfires. Air quality suffers during these periods, even without fires. Air quality regulators placed a Spare-the-Air Alert in effect for Monday in the San Francisco Bay Area.<\/p>\n

For a vivid visual review of the world’s extreme weather in 2012, the World Resources Institute constructed a timeline<\/a> of major events, which currently runs through August and WRI says it plans\u00a0 to continue updating.<\/p>\n