The calendar says it\u2019s still spring, but Sacramento\u2019s summer furnace flipped on this week.<\/p>\n
Monday\u2019s high temperature of 106 in downtown Sacramento broke the previous record of 103 degrees for June 9, which was set in 1883. Sunday\u2019s 104-degree heat was followed by a stifling night in which the region\u2019s famed Delta breeze failed to arrive, leaving the nighttime low at a relatively high 69 degrees.<\/p>\n
The heat is expected to ease starting today. \u201cCertainly this is the hottest period we\u2019ve had this year, but we are going to be trending downwards,\u201d said National Weather Service meteorologist Eric Kurth. \u201cWe\u2019re going to be closer to that normal level by Thursday, and then by the weekend we\u2019ll be back above normal.\u201d<\/p>\n
People who were not ensconced in offices and classrooms Monday were looking to cool off. The American River, Sacramento\u2019s aquatic playground, was as usual a favored spot. They found a river with a surprising amount of cool water despite the lack of rain and skimpy snowpack.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s because the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation is letting water flow out of Folsom Dam this month about twice as fast as it is flowing in from the American River watershed upstream. The agency isn\u2019t doing this to benefit swimmers or boaters, or the communities that depend on the river for their water supply. The higher flows are designed to satisfy state rules about how salty the water can be downstream in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.<\/p>\n
The water level in Folsom Lake is dropping about four inches a day as a result. Reclamation spokeswoman Janet Sierzputowski said she expects the higher water releases to continue until the end of June. About that same time, the water in Folsom Lake will become too shallow to launch boats, a month earlier than it did last year.<\/p>\n
So enjoy it while you can, Sacramento.<\/p>\n
\u2018Turn that sun down\u2019<\/span><\/p>\n A sparse crowd spread along the American River at Discovery Park Monday around noon. Some people were taking advantage of a day off. Nicole Corona of Sacramento brought her whole family, including her father\u2019s Chihuahua, Harley. \u201cWe don\u2019t have a pool, so this was our last attempt to escape the heat,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Her father, Fred Williams, and Harley were looking to cool off after driving from their home in Arizona to visit the family. \u201cAfter driving 1,000 miles, I want to see some water,\u201d Williams said.<\/p>\n Even with the extra releases from Folsom Dam, Evan Caldwell, 17, complained that the low water level was making it harder for him to catch fish. \u201cI honestly haven\u2019t seen a single striper,\u201d said Caldwell, who arrived in the early morning. \u201cYou usually see large schools of them around here.\u201d<\/p>\n Still, Caldwell, who just graduated from Sacramento\u2019s School of Engineering & Sciences, plans to return three to four times a week. \u201cIt\u2019s nice that there\u2019s a beach,\u201d Caldwell said. \u201cIt makes it a great place to swim and fish.\u201d<\/p>\n Discovery Park is also a destination for families with antsy children now that school\u2019s out. Joseph Bettencourt of West Sacramento brought his two children Monday for the first time. \u201cThey don\u2019t want to leave now,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Bettencourt likes that the water at Discovery Park is shallow and open. Boat riders also seem to have respect for swimmers, he said.<\/p>\n Some people just came to sit. Steve Larsen, who works downtown, eats his lunch in the shade three to four times a week.<\/p>\n \u201cI like the scenery,\u201d he said Monday. \u201cI like the quiet and the fresh air. It\u2019s a great place to get away from work.\u201d<\/p>\n Across the American River in West Sacramento, Al Goodman had a request. \u201cDo me favor,\u201d said Goodman, who was docked on his friend\u2019s boat at the Broderick launching ramp. \u201cReach up and turn that sun down.\u201d<\/p>\n Secluded beach<\/span><\/p>\n Pushed to the water by the heat, persistent families wound their way to Paradise Beach on the American River through a maze of sandy pathways and shrubbery.<\/p>\n The beach is about a 10-minute walk from Glenn Hall Park in the River Park neighborhood, but the winding sand pathways obscure it from people who don\u2019t know it\u2019s there.<\/p>\n Kandice Davis, who moved to Sacramento in January, had never been to Paradise Beach but read about it on a website and decided to bring her niece and nephew-in-law, who were visiting from Georgia. \u201cThe site didn\u2019t mention how far the walk was, we were like \u2018Oh God, it doesn\u2019t exist,\u2019\u00a0\u201d Davis said. \u201cWe\u2019re still afraid we\u2019re never going to find the car again.\u201d<\/p>\n On Monday afternoon, the group had the secluded beach almost to themselves. Canada geese were the sole inhabitants when they arrived, and only one other family came to share the gravelly strip along the water.<\/p>\n Jesse Beltran, 45, of Elk Grove took his family to spend the afternoon cooling off. \u201cIt\u2019s a traditional spot, back from high school and my childhood days,\u201d Beltran said.<\/p>\n His daughter, Kira, 13, said the chance to swim in the river was worth the trek across the sandy hills.<\/p>\n \u201cI thought we were there after the first hill, and then the second one,\u201d Kira said. She and her siblings complained about the walk as they carried chairs and towels to the water, but Kira said she hopes to come back often now that it is summer break.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The calendar says it\u2019s still spring, but Sacramento\u2019s summer furnace flipped on this week. Monday\u2019s high temperature of 106 in downtown Sacramento broke the previous record of 103 degrees for June 9, which was set in 1883. Sunday\u2019s 104-degree heat was followed by a stifling night in which the region\u2019s famed Delta breeze failed to … Continue reading Too Toasty: Sacramentans Take To The River<\/span>