HOT HOT HEAT

Fans and air conditioners were working overtime last weekend as
record-breaking heat invaded Santa Barbara County. Several small
wildfires broke out, and energy alerts were issued throughout the
South Coast as humidity levels soared Saturday and Sunday. The
combination of a nonexistent marine layer and tropical air from
Hurricane Daniel – which was ravaging the waters off
Mexico – helped temperatures rise well into the triple digits in
many areas, including thermometer readings of 103 in Goleta, 100 in
downtown Santa Barbara, 106 in Santa Ynez, 110 on Paradise Road,
and an egg-boiling 114 in Paso Robles. As hot as it was, this
week’s weather was a far cry from the “Great Simoon” of 1859, when
an early afternoon heat burst on June 17 drove temperatures in
Goleta from about 70 to a remarkable and deadly 133 degrees in a
matter of hours.