Warm weather, cheap gas fuel long holiday weekend in Merced

With gasoline prices the cheapest in more than a decade, families hit the road, packing themselves into campgrounds, hiking trails or cooling off in area lakes.

The average price for regular unleaded gasoline has fallen nearly 30 cents nationally in recent weeks weeks, down to $2.39 per gallon Monday, according to AAA.

In California, where gas prices are typically among the highest in the nation, the average price for regular unleaded was around $3.27, but was still nearly 30 cents cheaper on average than a month ago, AAA reported Monday.

Last year at the this time, that same gallon of gas cost about $3.83.

However, cheap gas and warm weather weren’t enough to draw large crowds to Lake Yosemite on Labor Day.

Debbie Wohltman, 64, of Merced, who went to the lake with a group of co-workers expecting dozens of people, found plenty of space.

“I’m surprised it is not crowded here,” Wohltman said. “I’m happy it wasn’t packed.”

Merced was expected to reach a high of 95 Monday, slightly above the 30-year average of 92. That warming trend is expected to continue throughout the week, with triple digits anticipated by Thursday. Temperatures of greater than 100 should continue through next weekend, falling back into the upper 90s early next week, according to the National Weather Service in Hanford.

“It’s going to be warm and dry, at least for the next seven days,” said meteorologist Brian Ochs.

This story was originally published September 7, 2015 at 5:31 PM with the headline "Warm weather, cheap gas fuel long holiday weekend in Merced."