Modesto area melted in record-breaking heat wave, but no fatalities reported
The heat wave is over but not before Modesto saw nine straight days of triple-digit weather, including several days and nights of record-breaking temperatures.
The National Weather Service reported Modesto’s daytime highs were at least 100 degrees from Sept. 1 through Friday. The weather service had Modesto under an extreme heat warning from Sunday, Sept. 4, through 8 p.m. Friday.
At 112 degrees, Tuesday was Modesto’s hottest day in the heat wave. The day also set the record for the hottest Sept. 6, breaking the previous high of 106 set in 2020, according to the weather service.
There was little relief when the sun went down, with nighttime lows in the 70s.
At 79 degrees, Thursday was the warmest night in the heat wave. It also set a record for the warmest night for Sept. 8, breaking the previous record .of 71 degrees set in 1944.
Modesto’s normal temperatures this time of the year are daytime highs of 91 or 92 with overnight lows of 60 or 61, according to the weather service.
The Modesto and Turlock irrigation districts — which provide the power that keeps the lights and air conditioning on throughout nearly all of Stanislaus County — saw record demand for electricity. Both reported isolated power failures but no major outages, and they did not have to resort to rolling blackouts.
But demand was high.
For instance, the Turlock Irrigation District reported earlier this week that it set a record for peak demand, with 735 megawatts on Tuesday. That was about 40 megawatts above the previous record.
The Modesto Irrigation District reported earlier this week that it set a record with 760 megawatts Tuesday. The MID reported that its typical peak demand for this time of year is about 650 megawatts.
The two districts have about 230,000 customers.
No heat-related deaths
Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Department Sgt. Luke Schwartz said Friday that the coroner’s office had not reported any heat-related deaths in the heat wave. “As far as any trends or noticeable spikes, we have not noticed anything like that,” he said. “We have been very fortunate.”
He did say the office is looking into the circumstances of someone who died Thursday in a warm house. But Schwartz said the person also had preexisting medical conditions. He said it could take weeks or months to determine a cause of death.
Stanislaus County Office of Emergency Services spokesman Raj Singh said Thursday that 34 people had gone to hospital emergency departments from Sept. 2 through Wednesday for heat-related illnesses.
Doctors Medical Center in Modesto had treated five patients for heat exposure and one for dehydration in its emergency department since Monday, said Krista Deans, a spokeswoman for DMC’s corporate parent, Tenet Healthcare. “It’s been a very small number considering we’ve seen more than 1,000 patients in our ED during that time,” she said in an email.
Deans said that Tenet Healthcare’s Emanuel Medical Center in Turlock also had treated a small number of patients with heat-related illnesses.
Stanislaus County extended the hours and days its branch libraries were open to serve as cooling centers. And some cities opened their own cooling centers.
Modesto cools off
Singh, the OES spokesman, said Thursday the library branches had provided relief for more than 120 people through Tuesday. Updated information was not available Friday, and the numbers could include people who used the cooling centers multiple days.
Modesto can expect a return to seasonal temperatures.
The National Weather Service forecasts a high of 92 for Saturday with a low of 72. Sunday is expected to reach 89 degrees and have a low of 69. The weather is expected to continue to cool, with Wednesday reaching a high of 81 and hitting a low of 59.
Besides Tuesday’s record-setting high of 112 degrees, the weather service said Monday’s high of 107 broke the previous record for Sept. 5 of 105 degrees set in 1988. Wednesday’s daytime high of 107 tied the record for Sept. 7 set in 2020, and Thursday’s high of 108 broke the previous record for Sept. 8 of 104 set in 1944.
The weather service said Friday’s low of 73 degrees broke the record for the warmest overnight temperature for Sept. 9 of 70 degrees set in 1944.
This story was originally published September 10, 2022 at 7:52 AM.
