N. California Heatwave Unprecedented For Duration, Scale - SF Chronicle

[hatrack]

The Great Heat Wave of 2006 was not just an epic meteorological event -- it was an epochal one, unprecedented in the north state's weather annals, meteorologists agree.

It has been hotter for longer than ever before, and the weather patterns that caused the scorching temperatures were positively freakish. The region's last significant hot spell -- in 1972 -- lasted two days, and never in the past has the Bay Area suffered through as many consecutive days of temperatures above 110. "We've had several one-day wonders over the years," said consulting meteorologist Mike Pechner in Cordelia, "but nothing of this extent and duration. It has been truly extraordinary.

"From an historical perspective, what happened in the nine Bay Area counties was particularly noteworthy. We didn't set many all-time temperature records in the Bay Area, but we did set records for the number of consecutive days with temperatures above 110."

Pechner said there was no previous record of Bay Area temps hitting 110 degrees for four consecutive days. According to Pechner, who uses data from the National Weather Service and Bay Area Air Quality Management District, there were five consecutive days this month with temperatures above 110: July 21 (111 degrees, Vacaville); July 22 (114 degrees, Morgan Hill); and July 23-25 in Rio Vista (110 degrees, 113 degrees, and 111 degrees, respectively).

EDIT

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2006/07/27/MNG1KK6DR71.DTL

[Sequoia]

1. I think we should let hatrack be the official Enviornmental Guru on DU!

I mean, look at all this. Thanks.

[NNadir]

3. He has long been the guru.

[Odin2005]

2. This year may be what climatologists call a "magic gate"

A magic gate is an event where the climate system shifts to a new stable state, there have been two other such events since the current warming started, one was in 1976 and the other was the El Nino of '97-'98.