As a precursor to the summer’s first intense warm-up, the National Weather Service on Thursday issued a Bay Area heat advisory that will kick in Friday and could last the whole weekend.
Bay Area fire officials were watching the heat with concern, as well; though flames weren’t necessarily at the top of their list of concerns everywhere.
“As it gets warm, the snakes will come out,” Darren Johnson, an assistant fire chief for the Rodeo-Hercules Fire Department in Contra Costa County, said. “They’re gonna want to get to where it’s warm. Sometimes, that’s cement, sometimes that’s a driveway. Sometimes, it’s where mud has been by a side of a road. But it happens when it gets warm.”
And some of those snakes carry a rattle, he said. Johnson is considered a bit of snake expert among Contra Costa County firefighters, but he’s hardly the only official who has signaled a warning to hikers to be aware of poisonous rattlesnakes.
“If you’re out hiking, you won’t want to be on the grass or anywhere off the trail where you can’t see your feet,” Cal Fire spokesperson Josh Shifren said. “They’ll definitely be out there. Some areas are more prone to having (snakes) than others, so pay attention to the signage. But mostly, stay on the trails, and keep your eyes up and open. This is the weather for it.”
Already this year, crews have tended to snake bites along trails in both Contra Costa and Santa Clara counties. In both cases, children were bitten, officials said. In both cases, those children recovered.
The heat brings another danger: Hot cars. Officials say drivers should place a cell phone or some other necessity with your child or pet in the back seat to offer as a reminder not to lock kids or dogs in a vehicle.
The mercury began to rise in thermometers Thursday ahead of the stronger trend to follow Friday and Saturday. Temperatures in the far East Bay and Santa Clara Valley were set to hit 90 degrees and perhaps go 2-3 degrees over it. In Brentwood in far east Contra Costa County, often considered that county’s hottest spot, temperatures were expected to hit at least 95 degrees.
Those temperatures are expected to rise another 3-5 degrees Friday, and then as many as another 5 degrees Saturday, according to the National Weather Service. Areas of East Contra Costa County — including Brentwood — and Livermore in Alameda County are expected to eclipse 100 degrees, perhaps by Friday.
The Santa Clara Valley is expected to rise into the high 90s. San Jose is expected to top out at 95 degrees.
“That is definitely still the expectation,” NWS meteorologist Dial Hoang said. “The soonest we will see a cool-down at all will be Sunday, and it will be a gradual one.”
The heat advisory is in effect throughout the region, except for small areas of Santa Cruz and Napa counties. The weather service said it will run at least through Saturday.
Officials urged individuals to limit their outdoor activities in the afternoon and evenings; to stay hydrated by drinking water throughout the day and to use sunscreen if they are outdoors for any length of time.
The high barometric pressure in the area that’s building and causing the temperatures to rise isn’t expected to have a huge effect on the air quality, according to the Bay Area Air Quality Management District. Air is expected to remain moderately healthy throughout the heat.
Source: www.mercurynews.com