California Is Facing Rolling Blackouts During The States Hottest Weeks In Nearly 70 Years
Looks like I moved out of California just in time!! Whew.
They are going into a couple weeks that will see temperatures soar to hotter than they have been for 70 years!! And, y’all that’s saying A LOT, because when you walk outside in Cali, you feel like you’re in an oven.
There are a couple problems here. Not only is it going to be hot as hades, but the excessive temperatures affect the electricity use in the state.
Unfortunately, the California power grid was already overloaded. People in the state are about to experience rolling blackouts in some parts of the state.
Why? To conserve energy. It is all about supply and demand. There is SO MUCH demand on the already stretched energy system, they only way to keep from a complete blackout of the grid, is to do rolling blackouts.
What is a rolling blackout? It is when the power company will temporarily enact forced power outages. This is as a last emergency step to conserve energy in an area where the power supply might be in short demand.
Poor California. They are already feeling the weight of longer lockdowns from the coronavirus, and they already have out-of-control wildfires going on. It kinda sucks to pile rolling blackouts on top of their woes.
Not only are they having to deal with rolling blackouts, but it’s HELLA hot!! It is going to be hotter in the next 2 weeks than they have felt in the last near quarter of a century!
According to Bloomberg, the pacific coast is going to be experiencing a “heat dome,” and that just SOUNDS awful!!
The problem is a large high pressure system that has centered across the Great Basin that spans Nevada and other western states. It essentially acts as a lid trapping trapping an ocean of hot air beneath it
Bloomberg
They are blaming this awful dome of heat on climate change. The contrast in temperature between the poles and the equator has gotten smaller, and when that happens, the jet stream is not strong enough to push the hot air out.
So basically, it is going to suck to be a Californian, an Oregonian, or a — what the heck do you call someone from Washington?? — for the next couple weeks.
I’ll just sit here and be happy with the blistering humid heat right where I am. At least I have power (knock on wood!!), and somewhat of a breeze that can cool things off a bit.
