Record Heat, Electric Use : Whew! It Was Another Hot One; More to Come

Electricity use shot to an all-time high Tuesday on the second day of San Diego County’s record-breaking heat wave, and forecasters predict more hot weather at least through Thursday.

Tuesday’s temperatures were down slightly from the day before, and the humidity dropped by 20 percentage points in most areas. The thermometer hit 88 degrees downtown at 1:15 p.m., eclipsing the old record of 86 degrees, set Aug. 19, 1885.

It was the second day in a row that a record high had been recorded, and mid-afternoon Tuesday, San Diego Gas & Electric delivered a record 2,376 megawatts of electricity to meet the demand of air conditioners straining in the heat. The old record was 2,342 megawatts, set in September, 1984.

If the hot weather persists--as the National Weather Services says it will--some isolated outages could occur if SDG&E; equipment breaks under the stress, said Gary Cotton, the utility’s vice president of electric operations.

But Cotton said plenty of energy is available.

“We plan for these high-demand periods and we are operating all of our facilities,” he said. “We have adequate reserve. All three units at San Onofre are working, and our power link to Arizona gives us additional reliability if one of our units trips off the line.”

Temperatures will continue to hover in the 80s along the coast, and into the 90s and above 100 inland throughout Thursday, forecasters said.

Countywide temperatures Tuesday returned to more normal patterns, with hotter weather inland.

The highs were 110 in Borrego Springs; 101 in Santee; 100 in El Cajon and Spring Valley; 99 in Poway, Ramona and Lemon Grove; 98 in La Mesa and Alpine, and 97 in Escondido. Highs were in the 80s in Del Mar and Coronado.

Much of the moisture that generated the muggy weather and thunderstorm activity Sunday night and Monday evaporated by Tuesday. A high-pressure system shifted from the south to the southwest, replacing sub-tropical air with drier gusts of air, said forecaster Wilbur Shigehara.

However, hot weather will linger.

“For awhile we thought the high pressure that was causing the intense heat was crumbling, but it is not,” Shigehara said. “I’m afraid we are not going to see much relief from this heat wave until Thursday or Friday. . . . It is generating so much heat that even the sea breezes are warm.

“A high-pressure system pulsates,” he said. “Sometimes it changes wind flow, but it is still over us with the heat. It covers the entire Southwest. We cannot predict long-range how it will change--that is why we are forecasting two days at a time.”

Although the air is now dry and hot, breezes are coming off the ocean, not from the desert like they do during a Santa Ana condition, he said.

Humidity was down to 30% at 3 p.m. Tuesday, and is expected to stay low today.

Water consumption was up throughout the county, but did not approach the record 323.23 million gallons set a day after the Normal Heights fire in July, 1985. City of San Diego hydrologist Gloria Lesher said 289.61 million gallons of water was consumed from 7 a.m. Monday to 7 a.m. Tuesday, and figures for daytime use Tuesday would probably be higher.

“When it is hot for a second day, usually people start watering,” Lesher said.

She said the increased water use does not pose problems because “we increase the flow from the County Water Authority pipeline.”

Clear skies with daytime highs of 83 to 91 are expected at the coast through Thursday, with lows around 70. Inland valley highs are expected to be in the 92- to 102-degree range, with lows in the 60s.

Mountain highs may reach 90; lows are expected to be in the 60s. Desert highs in the 100- to 108-degree range should drop to the high 70s or low 80s at night.