California Continues to Suffer From Intense Heat as Temperatures Reaches Triple Digits

The state of California experiences the worst days in a prolonged heat wave. The state, which is experiencing a severe drought, has experienced temperatures as high as 117 degrees Fahrenheit in certain areas.

Persistent Heat

The state of California continues to be plagued by one of the longest and hottest heat waves in recorded history, breaking temperature records and taxing an already overburdened electrical system.

The sixth day in a row of dangerously high temperatures, Tuesday, may bring the worst of a heat wave that has already significantly smashed certain daily, monthly, and all-time heat records.

Daniel Swain, a climate scientist at the University of California, Los Angeles, stated in a Tuesday Twitter Spaces discussion that while Northern California's heat wave is reaching its peak and many communities, there could "potentially see their hottest day in recorded history this afternoon," Southern California is currently experiencing a slight drop in temperatures.

In Northern California, and maybe for the entire state, this will be the worst September heat wave on record, he said.

Waiting For Cooling

On Monday, Fairfield broke the previous heat record in the northern San Francisco Bay Area by shockingly reaching 117 degrees Fahrenheit. Tuesday's forecasted high temperatures in the Central Valley's other cities and the state capital Sacramento will set even more records.

Even the normally chilly San Francisco, sometimes shrouded in fog, is under a National Weather Service warning for extreme heat as temperatures rose into the 90s on Monday and Tuesday.

According to weather forecasters, Californians won't have relief from the heat until Thursday.

Possible Blackouts

California's electrical infrastructure has struggled in recent years to meet demand as climate change increases the severity, length, and frequency of heat waves. With severe heat comes enormous strain on the grid.

It would be an understatement to say that it was awful in parts of the West due to a record-breaking heat wave. California entered its second week of extreme weather that stressed the state's power grid and threatened power shortages that may cause blackouts as residents frantically tried to remain cool.

Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) has pleaded with citizens to save energy, particularly after 4 p.m., by cooling their houses early each day, shutting the blinds and windows, setting the thermostat to 78 degrees or higher, and not using any big appliances.

As this unprecedented heat wave intensifies, residents will need to help with a "reduction in energy usage that is two or three times more than what we've seen so far," said Elliot Mainzer, president, and CEO of California's power grid operator, in a statement on Monday.

Later on Tuesday, the grid operator acknowledged that rolling blackouts would occur that evening to address the increased demand for electricity.

Wildfire Watch

Several wildfires have broken out across the parched state, almost entirely covered in a severe drought amid the persistent heat. Two fatalities have been reported in fires that have burned 2,400 acres in Riverside County and approximately 4,300 acres in Siskiyou County as of Tuesday.

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