An extreme heat warning was set to expire this evening in the eastern areas of Riverside County, but hotter than usual temperatures were still in the forecast for the next several days.
The warning was set to expire at 8 p.m. Saturday in the areas of Coachella Valley, Palm Springs, Cathedral City, La Quinta, Indio and Palm Desert, where temperatures between 102 and 107 were expected, according to the National Weather Service.
“Drink plenty of fluids, stay in an air-conditioned room, stay out of the sun, and check up on relatives and neighbors. Do not leave young children and pets in unattended vehicles. Car interiors will reach lethal temperatures in a matter of minutes,” the NWS announced.
In the western area of Riverside County, forecasters predicted a cooling trend to kick off this weekend, however temperatures were still expected to be higher than usual for this time of year there too.
“Even with the cooling, temperatures will remain 15-25 degrees above normal into next week, highest on Wednesday during the next peak in the heat,” the NWS announced.
The downtown Riverside and Hemet areas were expected to reach 93 on Saturday and 89 on Sunday, while the Temecula Valley was expected to reach 89 on Saturday and 85 by Sunday.
On Sunday, the Coachella Valley and Palm Springs were expected to reach the low 100s.
For the remainder of next week, downtown Riverside was expected to reach daytime temperatures in the mid-90s, dropping to the low 60s overnight. The Temecula Valley was expected to remain in the low 90s by day, and drop to the mid-50s by night.
In Hemet, daytime temperatures were expected to be in the 90s, dropping to the upper 50s by night. The Coachella Valley will linger in the low 100s, dropping to the upper 60s by night.
Several daily temperature records were set in Riverside County on Friday, according to the NWS: Idyllwild peaked at 88 degrees, breaking the previous record of 79 set in 2004; Indio reached 107, beating the prior precedent of 100 on the same date in 2004; Palm Springs set a new record of 108, undoing the 2004 record of 98; Riverside reached 102, busting the previous record of 97 from 1997; San Jacinto’s high of 101 beat the old record of 95, also from 1997; and Thermal shot up to 108, breaking the old record of 101 in 2004.