SANTA CRUZ — Weather experts are warning that a fall heat wave is bringing “life threatening conditions” to Santa Cruz County this week, especially in the mountainous regions though the scorching temperatures will extend all the way to the water’s edge. Dalton Behringer, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service, told the Sentinel that the most hazardous heat will engulf the county Tuesday and Wednesday with coastal areas, such as the city of Santa Cruz, expected to reach the mid to upper 90s while Ben Lomond and Boulder Creek could hit a sizzling 107 to 112 degrees. “This type of heat is pretty much going to affect anyone, even if you’re used to it or not,” said Behringer.
“One of the things we’re really hammering home here is: you’re going to go to the coast for some relief, but you’re not going to get as much relief as you may expect.” Behringer explained that an offshore pressure gradient is creating offshore winds — blowing from land to sea — that are keeping the marine layer at bay and, along with it, its natural cooling effect. Earlier this week, the weather service looped the county’s coastline into a heat advisory while the high elevation regions in the Santa Cruz Mountains were included in an excessive heat warning.
Both notices will last through 11 p.m. Wednesday.
Behringer said it’s normal for the Central Coast to experience heat ups in the fall, but one of this scale hasn’t been experienced since at least 1980. The projec.