Hollister
– Winter vacation did not get off to an auspicious start.
San Benito High School students Luis Lupercio, Austin Poehls and
CJ Allen had hoped to celebrate their new freedom by skateboarding
around town. Instead, the cold weather and the rain necessitated a
change of plans.
Hollister – Winter vacation did not get off to an auspicious start.
San Benito High School students Luis Lupercio, Austin Poehls and CJ Allen had hoped to celebrate their new freedom by skateboarding around town. Instead, the cold weather and the rain necessitated a change of plans.
Poehls said he and his friends can’t skate when it rains, because “it ruins the grip tape on our skateboards.”
Lupercio added, “We’re just walking around town with umbrellas.”
The weather has been bringing the teenagers down in other ways. Lupercio said he makes sure to turn his space heater up high when he goes to bed, while Poehls has taken to crawling under two blankets at night. Many of their friends are sick. And if Hollister continues to be chilly and wet, the teenagers anticipated a boring vacation filled with MySpace, video games and eating.
Michael Delman, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service, said that although it’s been cold, Hollister’s weather hasn’t reached any record lows.
“This is pretty typical,” Delman said. “It’s winter, so it’s cold.”
According to Delman, Hollister’s average December weather features highs of 61 degrees and lows of 36 or 37 degrees. Recent nights have been colder than normal – it got as low as 27 degrees on Tuesday morning. Since then, the lows have remained at 32 degrees or less.
Delman said things won’t heat up much, since winter is just getting started.
“Once we get into the rainy season, it will feel a little warmer because the cloud cover will trap the heat,” he added.
The recent rain, Delman said, is part of a relatively warm storm, as is the rain forecast for Dec. 25. That means there won’t be any nearby snowfall; if Hollister residents want a white Christmas, they’ll have to travel at least as far as the Sierra Nevada mountain range.
The cold and the rain are also something the city’s public works crews have to face.
“It’s a challenge,” Community Service Director Clay Lee said.
Lee said the city gives the crews equipment to help them stay warm and dry, as well as focusing on indoor work when the rain gets heavy.
However, bad weather can actually make the work more urgent – for example, cleaning up the leaves that might block storm drains.
“Our guys are out there rain, shine, cold weather, it doesn’t matter,” he said.
The winter homeless shelter is also affected when the temperature drops. Shelter manager Leigh Dietz said that in December 2005, the shelter usually housed six or fewer people per night. In the last few days, however, 13 homeless people have been spending the night.
Dietz said the shelter is better known now than it was last year, causing some of the increase, but she thinks the weather is another big factor. The cold also means that when the shelter’s guests have to leave in the morning, they aren’t happy about it.
“Would you want to stay outside in the cold all day?” Dietz said. “I wish we could stay open all day long.”
Anthony Ha covers local government for the Free Lance. Reach him at (831) 637-5566 ext. 330 or ah*@fr***********.com.
