A fine February

<p>Record-breaking temperatures hit Santa Rosa Wednesday, forcing folks to cast aside their scarves and boots and instead reach for ... sandals? In February?</p><p>Alison Abbott, spa director at Coldwater Creek Spa in Montgomery Village, said her pedicurists have been unusually busy because of the heat wave.</p><p>“When I went to the closet today, I thought about sandals or do I need to put my boots back on?” she said. “You are going to go for the sandals because you have the chance, so we've been getting more calls.”</p><p>The temperature hit 79 degrees in downtown Santa Rosa, eclipsing a record set in 1985, when the mercury topped out at 77 degrees.</p><p>There is more where that came from, said Diana Henderson, forecaster with the National Weather Service. Today's high is expected to be 77, just shy of the record set in 1985.</p><p>With the heat, forecasters are expecting high winds. A wind advisory has been issued for the North Bay hills, and PG&E has warned that gusts have the potential to cause power outages today.</p><p>Temperatures are likely to cool heading into the close of the week. Friday's high is expected to be 69 degrees, sinking into the low 60s by the weekend, Henderson said.</p><p>This hot spell has ignited a flurry of gardening excitement usually reserved for late spring and early summer, said Kelly Dabney, an employee at Harmony Farm Supply & Nursery in Sebastopol.</p><p>People tired of looking at wilting winter gardens in the glory of the full sun are hungry to plant some vegetables and other things before their time, she said.</p><p>Dabney and others are telling people to take their time and not to be fooled by neighbors strolling around in tank tops and flip flops.</p><p>Planting tomatoes, peppers and other summer crops may seem like a good idea when the temperature is 79, Dabney said, but the heat won't hold and vegetables will suffer because the ground knows it's still winter even though the green thumb may not.</p><p>“Even if it's warm like this and they don't freeze, the ground is still cold,” she said. “Imagine having cold, wet feet yourself. They are miserable. The roots never grow, the plant never catches up.”</p><p>The heat is making some grape growers sweat a bit as high temperatures warm the soil and accelerate the growth schedule. A typical bud break is the middle of next month, said Nick Frey, president of the Sonoma County Winegrape Commission.</p><p>“We would just as soon keep things asleep for a little while yet,” he said. “But we'll take what Mother Nature gives us.”</p><p>Staff writer Kerry Benefield writes an education blog at extracredit.blogs.pressdemocrat.com. She can be reached at 526-8671 or kerry.benefield@pressdemocrat.com.</p>