Officials: Brace for Near Record Cold
By Renee Koury, San Jose Mercury News, Calif.
Jan. 10–Prepare for near record cold weather beginning tonight.
That’s the message to Californians from the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services and the state’s Health and Human Services Agency.
The National Weather Service predicts temperatures in the Bay Area will drop into the 20s and 30s tonight and Thursday, followed by daytime temperatures in the mid 40s.
It’ll be even colder by the weekend, with some parts of the state dipping into the teens and low 20s. State health officials urged Californians to wear extra clothing and protect animals and plants.
“Exposure to extreme cold can be dangerous to your health,” said State Public Health Officer Mark Horton.
He recommends wearing several layers of clothing, using caution on the roads that can become slick and watch out for symptoms of exposure to cold. Horton also recommends closer watch on seniors, kids and those with chronic illness.
State and local officials also were working to make National Guard Armories and fairgrounds available for homeless shelters.
Currently, 11 such shelters are open from 6 p.m. to 7 a.m. daily in the state, including Gilroy, Sunnyvale and Santa Cruz.
This morning, patchy fog hovered over the Bay Area and caused slight delays at San Francisco International Airport, as a cold weather system made its way toward the region.
Weather in the San Jose area will be mild during the day today, with the weather service predicting temperatures in the 50s before the expected drop tonight. The weather system will bring a 20 percent chance of rain, but won’t splash too much water on the region, forecaster Diane Henderson said.
“The big news is the frontal system is bringing cold air with it, and it will get much more chilly than has been in past few days,” she said.
Temperatures are expected to drop to about 38 in San Jose on Thursday, falling further to about 32 degrees Friday and 30 on Saturday. That compares with a record low of 27 degrees for Jan. 13, set in 1963, Henderson said. Temperatures will be even more brisk in Morgan Hill, at about 26 by Saturday, she said.
That means a possible dusting of snow on the highest peaks of Mount Hamilton, Mount Diablo and the Santa Cruz mountains, she said.
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