SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SACRAMENTO CA 400 PM PDT FRI MAY 16 2008
WITH WELL ABOVE AVERAGE TEMPERATURES THIS WEEKEND…MOUNTAIN SNOWMELT WILL BE REACHING AROUND PEAK LEVELS FOR THE YEAR. WITH WATER LEVEL RUNNING HIGH AND FAST…PEOPLE SWIMMING OR WADING CAN BE EASILY SWEPT DOWNSTREAM. EVEN RELATIVELY SHALLOW WATER CAN BE DANGEROUS. WHILE AIR TEMPERATURES WILL BE HOT…WATER FROM SNOWMELT WILL BE VERY COLD. PEOPLE WADING…RAFTING OR FISHING ARE SUSCEPTIBLE TO A SUDDEN LOSS OF BODY TEMPERATURE FROM THE COLD WATER. THIS CONDITION IS CALLED HYPOTHERMIA AND IT CAN BE LIFE THREATENING.
OVER THE WEEKEND…TEMPERATURES WILL BE 10 TO 20 DEGREES ABOVE NORMAL. HEAT RELATED ILLNESSES ARE POSSIBLE IN THESE CONDITIONS UNLESS PROPER PRECAUTIONS ARE TAKEN. PERSONS WORKING OUTDOORS OR PLANNING OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES SHOULD WEAR LIGHTWEIGHT LIGHT-COLORED CLOTHING…TAKE FREQUENT BREAKS FROM THE SUN AND DRINK PLENTY OF NON-ALCOHOLIC FLUIDS. TRY TO AVOID STRENUOUS ACTIVITY DURING THE HOTTEST TIME OF THE DAY. DO NOT LEAVE CHILDREN OR PETS ALONE IN AN UNATTENDED VEHICLE.
TEMPERATURES ARE EXPECTED TO RETURN TO NEAR NORMAL BY MID WEEK.
It will be interesting to see how much the water rises where the rivers converge. As I drove by today, there was a huge sand bar that I have never seen before in the six years of living in Natty Park. Trixie