Temperatures soared into the triple digits throughout the Inland Empire Friday and were forecast to continue topping 100 degrees across the region going into early next week.
An Excessive Heat Warning previously issued by the National Weather Service only for the San Gorgonio Pass, Coachella Valley and desert areas to the east was expanded on Friday to include the Riverside metropolitan area and surrounding parts of western Riverside County.
The warning is in effect from 10 a.m. Saturday to 11 p.m. Tuesday.
Forecasters cautioned that “dangerously hot conditions” will prevail, and residents should be alert to exposure impacts, including dehydration and heat stroke.
As of 2 p.m. Friday, the mercury had topped 100 in the city of Riverside, while Palm Springs was at 107.
“Temperatures are anywhere from a few degrees to as much as 12 degrees higher than Thursday,” the NWS said in a statement. “Temperatures will be on a general upward trend (going into early next week).”
A ridge of high pressure backing westward over the Four Corners region will influence weather patterns in the area through the weekend and into the start of the upcoming week, keeping conditions hot and dry.
Highs will range into the low 110s on Friday, then climb closer to 120 on Saturday, Sunday, Monday and Tuesday in Cabazon, Palm Springs, Thermal, Desert Center and parts farther east, according to the Weather Service. Lows will generally hover in the upper 80s through the weekend.
Palm Springs’ city-operated cooling centers remain open at Demuth Community Center, James O. Jessie Desert Highland Unity Center and the Palm Springs Public Library. For more information, residents were encouraged to visit www.EngagePalmSprings.com.
In the Riverside metropolitan area, the high is forecast to reach 101 both Saturday and Sunday, with 103 likely on Monday and possibly Tuesday, meteorologists said. Overnight lows will fall into the low to mid-70s.
Across the Temecula Valley and southwest county region, highs will be at or just below 100 from Saturday to Tuesday, with lows in the upper 60s.
The NWS said monsoonal moisture will be contained by the high pressure until the middle of next week, when chances of scattered thunderstorms in the mountains around Anza and Idyllwild, as well as parts of the Coachella Valley, return.