The legendary Delta Breeze: Yes, it’s a real thing

On the final Saturday in May the midday temperature in the historic Delta town of Isleton climbed oppressively close to degrees during what turned out to be a mini late-spring heat wave in Northern California Related Articles What visitors need to know before traveling to Yosemite this summer Bay Area summer hikes to catch cool breezes and breathtaking scenery Largest campground at Yosemite National Park to reopen after million renovation Bay Area cities among America s best for sober traveling Summer Road Trip Playlist great Bay Area songs to fuel your travels Locals hoped that the legendary Delta Breeze would begin blowing in off the nearby Sacramento River to cool things down A drop in the temperature would enhance a long-planned celebration the grand opening of a new Main Street park dedicated to their town s Asian American history On days like this you re praying for the breeze commented Judy Vandeventer a -year Isleton resident Her home on a levee road outside town overlooks the San Joaquin River and the breeze nature s air conditioner lets her throw open her windows and doors on summer evenings Watersports enthusiasts take advantage of the world-famous winds at Sherman Island CA on Saturday May Don Feria for Bay Area News Group Delta residents love to share their experiences with this summertime weather phenomenon in all its complexities and how it affects their daily programs and even their life choices The Delta Breeze is a real thing says Iva Walton Isleton s mayor The breeze originates in the Pacific Ocean more than miles away and meteorologists and atmospheric scientists say it can bring a sparse degrees of relief on hot days to the millions of people who live work and play in the Delta a region that extends from Vallejo to Sacramento and Stockton Alas the Delta Breeze didn t reach Isleton in time for the May event and people made do enjoying the Taiko drummers and other entertainers with hand fans under the shade of a large tent But the wind was blowing pretty hard several hours later and about miles to the southwest on Sherman Island Watersports enthusiasts take advantage of the world-famous winds at Sherman Island CA on Saturday May Don Feria for Bay Area News Group On the western tip of this low-lying island near the confluence of the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers a dark sandy beach faces directly into the headwinds which makes it a popular destination for kiteboarding windsurfing wing foiling and other water sports that depend on wind power On the last day of May it was also about degrees cooler on the beach than it was in Isleton It s phenomenal here It s like why we don t leave here in the summer commented Emily Haw a kiter from San Francisco who was participating in an annual event to mark the start of the summer wind sports season in the Delta Haw who learned to kiteboard in Maui four years ago has chased the wind to Brazil New Zealand Portugal and Cape Town South Africa But Sherman Island has the best wind honestly she disclosed Watersports enthusiasts take advantage of the world-famous winds at Sherman Island CA on Saturday May Don Feria for Bay Area News Group This phenomenal wind starts in the late spring and is the effect of cool moist air currents from the ocean according to Ian Faloona an atmospheric scientist at UC Davis As inland temperatures rise the currents push in through two major openings in the coastal range the Golden Gate and the Petaluma Gap lowlands that run between Bodega and Tamales bays and Petaluma From San Francisco and San Pablo bays the cool air travels up through the Carquinez Strait usually arriving in the Delta in the late afternoon The micro-meteorology around the Bay Area is really complex but generally speaking you have the flow coming in off the ocean into that Carquinez opening and then filling the Sacramento Valley to the north and the San Joaquin Valley to the south Faloona revealed The breeze often reaches Sacramento or Lodi and can extend as far north as Redding or south as Bakersfield However by the time it reaches these towns at either end of the valleys it gets blocked by the surrounding mountains where it tends to stagnate and heat up so that it no longer feels cool and breezy Faloona announced Watersports enthusiasts take advantage of the world-famous winds at Sherman Island CA on Saturday May Don Feria for Bay Area News Group Delta residents like to dish about micro-climates related to the breeze It might be blowing at Vandeventer s home on the south side of Brannan Island but not at her friend s house miles north along the Georgiana Slough Meanwhile Sherman Island closer to the Carquinez Strait is likely to be breezy even when there s not much wind upriver as was the episode in Isleton on May It s unfailingly blowing on Sherman Island reported Judy Vandeventer s husband Skip When the kiters gathered on Sherman Island for their event wind speeds had reached to mph by about p m enough for Haw and other serious kiters to participate in an expression session a demonstration of their highest-flying wind-aided over-water stunts Several people at a time headed into the waves lapping onto the beach and let the wind catch their kites and pull them out on their boards They raced across the surface of the water to gain speed and lift Once in the air they performed twists flips and front and back rolls It s special here noted Michaela Pilkenton a professional Big Air kiter who traveled from Hood River Oregon for the Sherman Island event This is a light day We usually prefer it a bit windier but that s why the Delta is really nice The wind is usually like knots mph and pretty consistent Rana Eser catches air on her kiteboard while taking advantage of the world-famous winds at Sherman Island CA on Saturday May Don Feria for Bay Area News Group This consistency explains the presence of massive wind turbines visible from Sherman Island that now dominate the landscape of the low-rise Montezuma Hills directly across the Sacramento River Particular turbines operated by several wind farms have been credited with providing clean resource creating jobs and benefiting the local economic system But kiters say the massive rotating turbine blades have slowed the flow and created pockets of turbulence further up the Sacramento River near Rio Vista where they used to gather before gravitating to Sherman Island As dependably kiters chase the wind That s the event for Terri Henderson president of the Rio Vista Windsports Association and one of the organizers of the opening day event Henderson began wind surfing on the Delta in the s but has since switched to kiteboarding which she disclosed is easier on the body Rana Eser gains speed on the water in order to catch air on her kiteboard while taking advantage of the world-famous winds at Sherman Island CA on Saturday May Don Feria for Bay Area News Group A former Delta Dental employee who raised her two children in the East Bay suburbs she and her husband have built their retirement around being near the best wind achievable for kiteboarding They live on the coast of Baja California during the winter then return to their island home near Isleton in the summer She likes to get out on the water as much as doable When it s degrees in the valley and there s fog on the coast that s the perfect mixture to get wind coming off the water Henderson commented While the breeze generally picks up in the afternoon Henderson declared There s selected days when it s blowing in the morning and times when it s blowing all day It s kind of amazing We re all just on hold waiting for the wind The dynamic mix of cool ocean air and hot inland temperatures affects the intensity and timing of the Delta Breeze according to Dakari Anderson a meteorologist with the National Weather Operation You need the valley to be hot enough where it in fact creates the effect he announced Watersports enthusiasts take advantage of the world-famous winds at Sherman Island CA on Saturday May Don Feria for Bay Area News Group It s the pressure differences between hot inland temperatures and cool coastal temperatures that bring the wind up through the Carquinez Strait Faloona added So you ll often get the peak temperature difference around o clock but you might get even stronger winds a couple hours later and then gradually that will decrease and weaken that pressure gradient force which is pushing that air on shore Faloona disclosed And in the middle of the night it s generally when the winds are weaker because that temperature difference has shrunk Much of the talk about the Delta Breeze these days also focuses on how it might be affected by weather change Faloona revealed the increasing frequency of -plus-degree days inland could mean that the Delta Breeze will grow stronger Meanwhile Delta residents will continue enjoying this weather phenomenon when they can When the wind starts blowing up from the Carquinez Strait it just kind of rolls right over the levee and down Main Street explained Walton who also owns the popular Mei Wah Beer Room in Isleton The breeze is especially welcome on Sundays when the beer room hosts live music outside on its patio Walton noted The other day it was in the mid- s but with that breeze it was just like What a perfect day '