Residents Told to Cool It as Cold Causes Natural Gas Shortage

San Diegans should brace themselves for chilly temperatures, carried by an Arctic wind blowing across most of the United States, through the weekend.

Temperatures at Lindbergh Field reached a high of 56 degrees and a low of 47 degrees Tuesday, and are expected to be about the same today.

A storm approaching from the southwest will bring 15-20 m.p.h. winds and 1/2 to 1 1/4 inches of rain today and Thursday. The rain will change to snow in the mountains, prompting a winter storm watch, according to the National Weather Service.

“It’s going to be cold everywhere,” said Wilbur Shigehara, meteorologist for the National Weather Service, “but not record cold, far from it.”

For some San Diego Gas & Electric customers, temperatures may also be lower inside their homes. An SDG&E; spokesman said Tuesday that San Diego is experiencing the most serious natural-gas shortage in 10 years.

Because of the cold wave, “there are high gas demands in other parts of the country, and suppliers are diverting more gas to those parts of the country,” said Tom Murnane, SDG&E; spokesman. “Additionally, there’s low pressure in the gas lines serving us from Southern California Gas Co., and that means less volume shipped over the same amount of time.”

Customers Asked to Cut Back

The increase in gas consumption has caused SDG&E; to ask customers to cut back on gas use and set their thermostats at 60 degrees--down from the normally recommended 68-degree setting. However, the company is advising elderly customers to first seek medical advice before lowering thermostats.

The frigid temperatures have also caused San Diego shelters for the homeless to operate at higher capacities, adding extra beds for the transients who have poured in for relief from the cold the last two nights.

The St. Vincent de Paul Joan Kroc Center, which normally houses 350 people a night, has added 150 beds in meeting rooms and a dining area, said Patricia Leslie, the shelter’s residential coordinator.

Monday night, San Diego Life Ministries added 85 beds to its normal 150 and provided spaces on the floor of its chapel, said Richard White, the shelter’s chaplain and program director.

“It’s rough this time of year. I know, because I used to be on the street,” White said. No transient deaths have been reported because of the cold, according to the county coroner’s office.

A frost advisory is in effect for Friday and Saturday night for agricultural areas, which should expect temperatures in the mid-20s over the weekend, Shigehara said.

Crop damage depends on the duration of a freeze, said Charles Wolk, chairman for the San Diego County Farm Bureau.

“Even if it’s 29 or 28 degrees, if it’s like that all night, it will do damage,” he said.